Pokemon Glistening Souls
by Ourian Clemmens
Summary: It's been 35 years since Ash and Gary completed their Journeys and now it's time for 6 of Pallet Town's youths to begin Journeys of their own. One of these 6 youths, Lucas Ivere, discovers a pokemon egg containing a special pokemon that could change his life forever. "The Glistening Souls shall forever shine bright as their Vassals guide them to the Ancestor"
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Preparations

Pallet Town... A small town of beginnings... Peaceful and full of kind and wonderful people... Many remember Pallet Town for its Pokemon Laboratory ran by Professor Samuel Oak. Well at least it used to be. Today his grandson Gary Oak runs it. Speaking of who, Gary is busily at work in the lab right now! Today was the day that three new pokemon trainers would be beginning their journey across Kanto in search of the eight gym badges and to eventually challenge the Pokemon League and become the Kanto Champion!

In the lab, Gary and his assistant were rushing around frantically trying to straighten everything up in time for the new trainers.

"Hey Rick! Those files go over to the filing cabinet in the Johto Office!" Gary shouted, pointing over to an office on the second floor as he cleared off the table where each month he would set the three starter pokemon on the table for the new trainer or trainers to choose from: Bulbasaur the leafy Seed Pokemon, Charmander the fiery Lizard Pokemon, and Squirtle the watery Tiny Turtle Pokemon. Rick nodded and grabbed all of the files and ran up the stairs.

As he set the three pokeballs on the now clean table, he continued to stare at them nostalgically. It was thirty five years ago, on this very day, that he received his very first pokemon from his grandfather. Tears welled up in his eyes as he remembered how his grandfather smiled at him as he decided who his very first partner would be. Walking away from the table, he moved over to his desk and stared at the portrait of his family. He still had the brown spiky hair, although now he had some gray showing in the front. He had grown a goatee since moving back to Pallet Town. He was also pretty fit; slim yet muscular.

"Oh Gramps... I wish you were here right now..." he said, now staring at the picture of his grandfather on the wall opposite his desk. Sadly, three months ago Professor Samuel Oak passed away while tending to the newly-born bulbasaur in the grass habitat of his lab. They say that he was found laying down next to them under a tree. It wasn't until the sun was setting when his assistant looked over to him from the lab to find that he hadn't even moved from that spot. When the assistant went over to check on him, he wasn't breathing...

"Professor! What would you like me to do with the new pokeball designs?" Rick asked, snapping Gary back into reality. He stared up into his asistant's face which showed a look of concern. "Sir, are you okay?"

Confused, Gary looked at the mirror on the wall next to him to find that he was actually crying. Wiping the tears from his eyes and face, he patted Rick's shoulder and took the designs from him and put them in a drawer of his desk. "Yeah. I'm okay... I just miss him is all... It won't be the same without him..."

"Yeah... This was always his favorite day of the month... He loved to see the smiles of the new trainers as he handed them their pokedex and as they met their partners for the very first time..." Rick said, tears starting to well up in his eyes as he too began to stare at the picture of the professor.

For a few moments, the both of them stared at the picture in silence, neither saying a word out of respect for the late professor. It was when a blastoise gently tapped on the window behind his desk when they snapped to reality. Gary opened the window and rubbed the forehead of his partner and friend of thirty five years.

"Hey pal... You hungry?" Blastoise nodded his head and walked to the back door. Chuckling slightly, Gary walks out back to meet him and together they walk to the apple tree where they both relaxed for a little bit while eating the juicy red apples that Blastoise plucked for the both of them. After three apples for Gary and about twenty for blastoise, Gary climbed up onto his shell and they both head over to the pond where Blastoise gently gets in the water, careful not to get Gary wet. For maybe a half an hour, they just gently swim, Blastoise occasionally squirting a weak jet of water out of one of the cannons protruding from his shell to amuse himself, making Gary smile. He knew that Blastoise was getting old, but he continues to hope that maybe he will stick around for a little bit longer. Losing him after just losing his grandfather would be too much for him to handle.

"Alright buddy, take me back to the shore, I need to finish getting everything set up." Gary said, patting Blastoise's shell. After they got to shore, Blastoise continued to follow him up to the lab and watched as he and Rick continued to tidy up. As they finish up, Gary returns to his desk and sits down, staring out the window, waiting for the three young teens who will begin their journey. All of a sudden, he feels a paw brush his leg and he looks down to see his umbreon staring up at him with those deep red eyes expectantly. Laughing to himself, he pats his leg and allows her to jump into his lap where she curls up and rests her head on his hand. He absentmindedly begins to scratch her behind the ear with his other hand, causing her to purr slightly.

Rick eventually takes a chair next to Gary and sits with him. "The bond you have with your pokemon is pretty rare... I have never seen an umbreon that was so affectionate towards their trainer in all my life!" Gary laughed and looked at Umbreon, who was now sound asleep. "Yeah... She truly is something else... But I'm glad though. When she first evolved into an umbreon, I was worried that she would get a little aggressive like most do... but she seems even sweeter as she was as an eevee. She definitely is one of a kind... And Blastoise may be powerful and intimidating, but nobody would ever guess how much of a softy he is for little kids... Every day the kids come over just to play with him."

Laughing, Rick nods over towards the back door. "I see what you mean." Gary looks over to see Blastoise laying in the grass near the door as three kids, two boys and a girl, are all scratching the softer part of his shell on his belly.

Gary recognizes them and wakes up Umbreon so he can get up out of the chair. "That must be them. Let's go let them in, shall we?" Gary asks, making Umbreon jump with excitement. Gary opens the door, Umbreon close by his side. "Welcome! Please come in you three." The kids walk past him and into the lab. He was about to shut the door when Blastoise grunted at him. Looking back he noticed another boy scratching the back of Blastoise's ear. He looked to be around the same age of the other three, but he knew he was still too young to start his journey. The boy looked up at Gary hopefully, "Professor... I know that I am still too young to become a trainer, but can I at least watch as they get their pokemon?"

Gary just smiled as he looked at the boy. He obviously loved Pokemon with all his might. That much he was certain of. He actually reminded him of Ash and himself when they were just ten years old and starting their own journeys. It was a shame that they changed the legal trainer age from ten to fifteen. However, the majority of parents agreed that starting a journey at ten is absurd and puts the child in danger. Gary, of course, thought that the parents were being over protective and would have sent his daughter, Leanne, on her journey when she was ten. Snapping back to reality, Gary looks at the boy to find him staring back eagerly. "Of course you can! Come on in!"

The boy's face just lit right up as he rushed right pass Gary and went inside. Still smiling, he looked at Blastoise and Umbreon, "Well, they won't be able to start their journeys if we stay out here... Let's go inside." Gary said as he walked inside along with Umbreon as Blastoise walked inside using the bigger door on the other side of the lab.

When everyone was inside, the kids next to the table with the pokeballs on it and Gary staring at them from the other side with Umbreon on the chair next to the table and Blastoise behind him and Rick next to Gary holding the three pokedexes in his hands.

Gary opens his arms wide, "Welcome to the Pokemon Lab! I'm Professor Oak and I am here to help you get started on your journey into the wonderful world of pokemon!" Blastoise grunts proudly and Umbreon lets out an excited "UMM!" as Gary recites the famous welcoming speech of his grandfather.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Preparations Part Two

As he gave his introduction, Gary took the time to observe the four teens.

The boy who asked if he could watch was eagerly staring at the three pokeballs on the table. The tallest boy was staring at him with full interest. The girl, whose attention now turned to Umbreon, was copying her movements as she cocked her head to the side, giggling as she did so. Finally was the rather serious looking boy who was staring at Blastoise as if he was sizing him up.

Smiling, Gary begins walking over to the taller boy, "Well then, shall become better acquainted?" He stops in front of him and holds his hand out, which the tall boy grabs and gives him a good shake,

"My name's Johnathan Coswell, but everyone calls me Johnny." He had short red hair spiked to the back that gave him the appearance that his hair was on fire and deep brown eyes. His wardrobe was rather simple: green long sleeved shirt and white jeans.

Gary nods, "Nice grip, and a strong name! You will be a tough trainer to beat! I can feel it!" He then releases his grip and walks over to the girl, who was still mimicking Umbreon's head movements. He couldn't help but laugh slightly, "You know, she loves to be pet. Just hold your hand out and let her sniff you first." The girl walks over to Umbreon, who stares at her as she extends a hand for her to smell. Once Umbreon sniffed her hand, she nuzzled her head into her palm and allowed her to pet her. "Impressive! She may not be the most aggressive umbreon around, but she is still rather cautious to new people... and yet she went right up to you!" Gary says, kneeling down to pet Umbreon as well.

The girl looks up at him with a smile and says, "Yeah, I don't know what it is about me, but pokemon always seem to like me. Oh yeah, my name's Rosalind Silverstine, but you can call me Rose." She was wearing a pink sleeveless t-shirt that exposed her lower stomach, matching tight pink shorts that reached about mid thigh, red mid-calf length socks, and a red sweater-jacket tied around her waist by the sleeves with the coat part towards the back. Her brown hair flowed smoothly to the middle of her back, held in place by a red hairband that showed off her beautiful blue eyes.

"A lovely trait with a name and personality to match! Any Pokemon who travel with you will be lucky indeed." Gary says, walking over to the serious looking boy. "And what would your name be, young man?" He offered his hand like he did to Johnny. The boy just looks at him silently. Still, Gary just stood there, hand outstretched in the friendly greeting gesture.

Finally Rose gave the boy an evil look, "Geez you are so rude Blaze! It's hard to believe we're related!" The boy looks at her and merely shakes his head, then looks back to Gary and finally returns the gesture and gives him a firm handshake. "Blazani Silverstine... Call me Blaze." He wore a skin-tight violet t-shirt with a black stripe that ran up the side on both sides, black jeans and black combat boots, the jeans tucked into the boots, and a chain that looped through one belt loop, allowing the chain to sag on the opposite end. His most outstanding features, however, were his bleach-white hair and his ruby red eyes, which gave him that sinister and serious look.

"Well now, that wasn't so bad now was it? Mysterious yet strong willed. I can see that you have a lot of unknown potential. The potential for what, I have no idea, but right or wrong it will be great." Gary said, releasing his grip and walking next to his assistant Rick, placing his hand on his shoulder, "Now then, Rick is going to give you your customized pokedex and explain its purpose and functions to you. Excuse me for one second please." Gary announces and he walks toward his desk, but stops about halfway and turns to the youngest boy, who was watching him. "Ah yes! I almost forgot! What is your name?"

"My name is Lucas Ivere, but everyone calls me Light since I seem to brighten everyone's mood when I walk in the room." And with that statement, Light gives a big smile, a smile that reminded him of his long-time rival of thirty five years. He had short black hair spiked forward and at the back of his neck was a slim braid that reached his lower back. His eyes were emerald green and was wearing an unzipped black jacket with two chest pockets, a white t-shirt underneath, blue jeans, and a pair of white fingerless gloves that had a pokeball design on them.

Gary returned the smile, "I can't wait for the day that I give you your first pokemon! Speaking of which, how long is it until you turn fifteen?"

"Not long! I turn fifteen in a little under three months!" Light said, giving Gary a thumbs up.

"I look forward to it! Now then, Rick, they're all yours!" Gary says as he returns to his desk. Rick then proceeds to hand a pokedex to each of them.

"Now, you will notice that the custom designs you've ordered have already been applied to your pokedex since you all pre-ordered them in advance." He explains, handing a pink pokedex with a red rose on the front in full bloom to Rose, a black pokedex with what appears to be white flames to Blaze, and a blue pokedex with a river flowing along the bottom of it and a moon at the top, the river reflecting the moon, to Johnny.

"Now then, each one is empty and has no recorded information of any pokemon yet. This is because you do not yet own any pokemon. As you capture pokemon, their data will be recorded from known characteristics, average size and weight, and type to the moves it can learn and be taught and abilities. Also, keep in mind that these pokedexes are also considered your trainer passports. All of your personal data, including trainer identification and address, as well as your passports to travel to different regions, is stored electronically in this device. In short, this little device is your lifeline, your key if you will, to the world of pokemon. Without them, you cannot receive lodging at the pokemon centers, you cannot shop at the poke marts, or challenge the Gym Leaders. With this all said, keep them on you at all times!

"Finally, I have taken the liberty of registering all of you into the system before you arrived so you are all set. Now all we have to do is wait for the professor to finish this up by giving you your pokemon. Professor, if you have finished, they are ready for you."

Gary, who had just started walking over to them with a clear bag of what appeared to be marbles, and hands each of them five of the marbles, keeping the last one for himself. "Now then, time for your little lesson in pokeballs. When they are small like this, they are in their safety mode. In this mode, they cannot be used and it also prevents a pokemon from accidentally releasing in case you drop it. To set it to active mode, you press the little button twice, like so." Gary pressed the button on his pokeball twice and it immediately grew to its normal size. "In this mode, the sensors all over it are active and will react when you throw it at a wild pokemon or, when there's a pokemon inside it, release the pokemon when you throw it. Now it will also automatically return to the trainer with the pokedex it is registered to once thrown.

"To register a pokeball, scan them with the pokedex. You can scan multiple pokeballs at once. To retrieve a pokemon, just point it at said pokemon and it will become digitized and return to the pokeball. Such an amazing device, wouldn't you agree? Now then, to return them to safety mode, just press the button twice again and it will turn back. Any questions?"

When everyone stayed quiet, Gary walked over to the table with the pokemon. "Now then, the main event... Rose, ladies first."

Rose walks over to the table and Gary points to the pokeball to her left, "That one is Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokemon. This one" He points to the middle one, "is Charmander, the Lizard Pokemon. Finally we have" he points to the one on her right, "Squirtle the Tiny Turtle Pokemon. Choose wisely, for once you register the pokeball with your pokedex, you can't switch."

Rose was already reaching for Bulbasaur before Gary could finish speaking. She takes her pokedex, and scans the pokeball using the sensor on the back of the pokedex, and instantaneously, the pokedex was updated with Bulbasaur's data.

"A fine choice! Next up is Blaze." Blaze walks up to the table and instantly grabs Charmander's pokeball, registering it as he walks back to his spot. Gary then gestures for Johnny to take the remaining pokemon, Squirtle. Now that everyone has their pokemon, he tosses the pokeball that he used to demonstrate to the others to Light, who looked back up at him confused, "Think of it as a little souvenir... Something to help you look forward to the day you become a trainer." Gary winks at him and walks towards the back door of the lab, signalling for everyone to follow him. Light just stares at the pokeball, practicing switching it between safety and active mode.

Once outside, Gary leads them to a concrete slab, at least five hundred feet wide and long, with a Pokeball painted on it. There were many scratches, nicks and scorch marks on it. Gary walked to the center of the slab and turned to them.

"Now then... Since we all have our new partners, let's go ahead and have some fun! Everyone call out your new pokemon! It's time for a lesson in pokemon battles!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three - Preparations Part Three

At the mention of a pokemon battle, all of the kids, even Blaze, smiled with excitement. Rose was already walking up to the slab and taking her place at the line to Gary's right where the trainer stands during the battle, her pokeball in hand.

"I see someone is eager to get this show on the road! Now, I want you two to come up here too." Gary commands, pointing to the line in front of him and to his left opposite from Rose. Confused, Blaze and Johnny make their way to the designated spots. When Blaze gets his pokeball out, he stares at the Professor questioningly, "Professor, I thought pokemon battles were usually conducted between only two trainers... How can all three of us attend the same battle?" Rose and Johnny also give Gary the same stare, obviously wanting to ask the same question.

However, Gary just smirks as if expecting the question, "Very true, Blaze. Most pokemon battles are conducted between only two trainers. However, there are battles that occur that can have four trainers. These types of battles are double battles, which can be fought by two trainers with two pokemon each, or four trainers with one pokemon each. There are also triple battles, which are battles where there are six pokemon on the field at once, usually one trainer with three pokemon on each side, but there are a few times when triple battles are played out with six trainers, each using one pokemon. Although that is rare. Finally, there is also the rotation battle, where three pokemon are on the field at one time, but only one pokemon may attack or be attacked at a time. This form of pokemon battle takes a lot of on-spot strategic planning since a pokemon can be rotated at any time with any one of the other two pokemon on their team."

Rose wasn't satisfied, "Very insightful Professor... but how does that explain what we're doing now?"

Gary just stares at her, "True, what we are doing has nothing to do with any of the battle types that I have mentioned. This battle type, rarely used, is called a battle royal. In this battle format, there are an uneven number of trainers so the only solution, to make it fair, is to all battle at once. Every pokemon is an enemy and the last one standing is the winner. There is no limit to how many trainers participate in this kind of battle. The record so far was around thirty five trainers during an event in Celadon City about twenty years ago. Now keep in mind that this battle type is also considered the most dangerous because so many pokemon battling at once tend to cause injuries and the more pokemon involved, the greater chance of a major injury that could bench your pokemon for days, weeks, even months. Try to stay away from these battles when there are more than six trainers involved.

"Now there is also a reason why I am having you all battle in this format..." Gary's expression changed from cheery to grim as quick as the blink of an eye. "This battle type is commonly used among criminal organizations and terrorists... In the event that you come across a group of them and they outnumber you, you need to know how to handle the situation. Team Rocket was especially known for this, usually outnumbering one trainer six to one. Remember, they will not play fair. All they care about is winning and taking your pokemon. Thankfully, however, Team Rocket has long since disbanded you shouldn't really have to worry about it, although the knowledge is still good to have. So, with that being said, let's get started!"

As he finished his explanation, Gary then walks over to the remaining line and pulls out a pokeball. Everyone just stares at him curiously. He just nods and throws his pokeball in the air, and in a flash of light, a young eevee is released and it lands elegantly in front of Gary. "Meet Umbreon's daughter. She was hatched only about two weeks ago and has little battle experience, just like your pokemon." The young eevee just gave them an excited squeak and got into a pouncing position.

Rose threw her pokeball and out came her bulbasaur, who landed on all fours and glared at the eevee. Blaze released his charmander, who immediately began to chase its tail, stopping with a single stare from Blaze. Finally, Johnny releases his squirtle, who slips and lands on its back, struggling to get back up due to its shell limiting its movements. Johnny helps it up, pats it on the head, then walks back over to his line.

Gary then looks over to Lucas, who was petting Umbreon, "Light! How about you be the referee for our match?" Lucas's face just lit right up as he ran to the referee's stand and sat in the chair at the top, giving him a great view of the whole slab. Umbreon followed him up to the top and sat in his lap and Blastoise sat tat the base of the stand, readying a cannon to fire and signal the start of the battle at Lucas's command. As he raised his hand, Lucas took the time to acknowledge all four of them with a quick glance. Seeing the readiness in all of their eyes, he drops his hand and Blastoise fires what looks like a ball made of water into the air. Nobody moved as the ball slowed down, then began to return to the ground. Once it splashed into the middle of the slab, the Battle officially began.

The first one to move was Bulbasaur, who moved quickly at Squirtle. "Bulbasaur use Tackle!" Bulbasaur picks up speed and throws itself at Squirtle, who jumps up and over Bulbasaur. Still in the air, Squirtle follows up with a tackle attack of his own and drops down on Bulbasaur, stopping him in place. "Way to go Squirtle! Now jump up and tackle again!" As Squirtle jumps up to repeat the attack, Blaze's charmander catches Squirtle in mid-air with a Scratch attack to the arm, causing him to miss by a few inches as he landed.

"Again Charmander!" Blaze commanded, and Charmander scratched Squirtle again, this time catching the softer shell on his stomach and knocking him onto his back. As Squirtle struggles to get up, Charmander goes in for the win when Eevee tackles him so hard that Charmander lands on her head and is slow to get up. Squirtle gets back up, ready to begin round two. Johnny calls out to Squirtle again, "Use Bulbasaur's bulb to propel yourself at Charmander and tackle it!" Instantly, Squirtle jumps at Bulbasaur, who is just getting his balance, and launches himself into Charmander, knocking her back several feet and flat on her back. Charmander tries to get back up, but Eevee jumps onto her back with a tackle and knocks her out cold. Lucas waves his hand to his right, "Charmander is unable to battle!"

As Blaze recalls Charmander, Eevee gives a triumphant squeak, then returns to the battle. With one of their competitors down, each of the trainers, including Gary, start shouting their strategies excitedly to their partners. Bulbasaur launches himself at Squirtle, knocking him on his back, but this time he is prepared for it and uses his tail to increase his momentum and roll to his feet, then tackles back at Bulbasaur, who was also targeted by Eevee. Instead of attacking back, Bulbasaur, at Rose's command lies flan on his stomach, causing Squirtle and Eevee to collide just inches above him, both getting knocked back to the ground. Bulbasaur gave what appeared to be a sort of laughing sound as he tackled back at Eevee, who got hit so hard that she was sent flying several feet and doesn't recover, knocked out. Gary recalls Eevee and now it is down to just Squirtle and Bulbasaur. Once again, Lucas calls out, "Eevee is unable to battle!"

Both of them rush each other head on, both using Tackle, and knock each other back. Johnny changes his strategy slightly and has Squirtle rush back at Bulbasaur, who copies him, only this time Squirtle leaps up and uses Tail Whip and smacks Bulbasaur in the face with his tail, then slams downward at Bulbasaur with Tackle, crushing him between Squirtle and the slab and doesn't get up. Rose recalls Bulbasaur, leaving Squirtle alone on the slab, jumping in triumph. Lucas waves his hand to the side, "Bulbasaur is unable to battle! Squirtle wins!"

Gary walks over to Squirtle and pats him on the head. "Good work little buddy. Now take this over to your Trainer." Gary hands Squirtle a small box, who takes it happily and runs over to Johnny. Openning the box, johnny finds a small bag of what appears to be treats for Squirtle and another small bag with two hundred dollars in it. Shocked, Johnny tries to return the money, but Gary insists that he keeps it. "Trust me, you will need it more than you know. Believe it or not, it costs more than you think just for supplies." After congratulating Johnny and Squirtle, everyone shakes hands and then follow Gary back to the Lab, where he gives them all some potions and Rick takes their pokemon to the lab clinic to heal them up.

As they wait, they all eat dinner, cooked by Gary and Rose, who volunteered to help him. They made beef stew and grilled cheese sandwiches, a simple yet filling dinner. Once they finished, Gary gave them a tour of the lab. Once the tour was over and the Pokemon were healed, Gary leads them outside to see them off.

"Well, today was a fun day! Tomorrow morning, you will officially be pokemon trainers! I wish all three of you the best of luck and if you ever have any questions, or even just want to say hey, your pokedexes have been upgraded to make video calls and my number is programmed into all three of them. Now then, before it gets too dark, run on home everyone and get a good night sleep." Rose, Johnny, and even Blaze wave goodbye to the professor and Rick as they all walk home. Lucas, however, walks slowly in the opposite direction towards the beach, obviously upset that he wouldn't be starting his journey with them.

Gary walks over to him and pats him on the shoulder, "Don't worry, Light... In a couple months, that will be you too. How about you come on by next week and we can start designing your pokedex. My daughter Leanne will be starting her journey at the same time as you and will be here as well. I bet she would love to make a new friend." Lucas looks up at Gary, tears in his eyes, but he manages a nod. Gary then walks back to his lab and Lucas walks home. As Gary locks up the lab, he waves to Rick, who is returning home, and begins to walk to the house across the street. After washing up and wishing his daughter a good night, he lays down in his bed.

"They all have potential in their own way... But Lucas... I can't wait to see what kind of trainer he will become..." he mutters to himself before Umbreon jumps up onto the bed with him and curls up with her head next to his. He strokes her ear and slowly falls asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four - Bounty of the Beach

As Lucas walks away from the Pokemon Lab with a heavy heart, he looks back at his friends, envying them. All he has ever wanted to do was go on a journey with his friends right by his side as they traveled all over Kanto. However, with two and a half months until his birthday, he has to sit back and watch as his friends begin their journeys without him.

"I knew this was going to happen..." Lucas told himself, "So why does it hurt so much?!" He suddenly breaks out from a walk into a sprint, tears flying from his eyes as he ran. Faster and faster he ran, running as if he could escape the pain just from the speed alone. He wanted nothing more than to feel happy for them, however at this very moment, for whatever reason, he felt nothing but anger. Not at his friends, but at himself. If only he was a little older... He would've been joining them tomorrow morning as well. He would have a Pokemon of his own... He would be a night's rest from having the adventure of a lifetime...

Once he reaches the beach, he finally slows down and kneels in exhaustion at the water's edge. Panting uncontrollably, he stares out at the sea, tears still streaming down his face. For almost an hour, he stares at the water, its constantly moving surface reflecting the crescent moon and the stars in the black sky. The sound of the crashing waves on the wet sand helping to soothe him. Taking his shoes and socks off, he wiggles his toes in the cold damp dirt.

"Geez listen to me... I should be happy for them, not angry or upset..." He said to himself, lying back in the dirt and grabbing a clod of wet sand and throwing it towards his feet. Lucas then begins to stare at the moon; the night sky always mystified him. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe there were some Pokemon that came from the moon... Maybe one day he would go to Hoenn's Space Center and apply for the yearly contest where they allow someone to tag along in the shuttle mission, however his chances of winning that would be close to one in a billion considering how many people sign up for it just to get a moon rock.

He sat back up and watched as a krabby scuttled by his arm, blowing bubbles as it moved past him. It was a rather small krabby to be honest, its body about the size of his hand. It stopped to look at him, clicking its pincers in what appeared to be a challenge. Smiling slightly, Lucas grabs a stick from nearby and gently pokes at its pincer, who starts trying to grab at it. The krabby managed to grab it a couple of times, but mostly missed because Lucas's reflexes were pretty quick. After the krabby finally snapped the stick, it scuttled away and left Lucas to stare off at the sea.

Finally calmed down, he starts to get up and walk home. In the corner of his eye, however, he sees something shine between a couple of rocks. Curiosity overcoming him, he goes to examine the source of the shine. Approaching cautiously in case it's a Tentacool, which tend to be rather aggressive while on land, he moves one of the rocks aside to reveal what looked like an oddly shaped stone. Sensing no danger from the stone, he picks it up and inspects it.

It was oval shaped and about the size of his hand. It was a dull yellow color with splashes of purple here and there. Upon closer inspection of the stone's pattern, he then realizes what he was holding; a Pokemon Egg! Excitement began to course through him as he ran back home, taking care to not drop the egg. Twice he nearly tripped in his excitement, but he never lost his grip on the egg. Finally getting home, he takes his time to catch his breath before he walks inside.

As he begins to untie his shoes, he could hear footsteps approaching. Two seconds later his mother, long black hair with green eyes like Lucas and about two inches taller than he was, walks into view. "Do you have any idea how late it is?!"

"Honestly, no Mom. I'm sorry... I guess I lost track of time..." He said cautiously. She didn't look it, but she was easy to anger.

"It's midnight! I know you went to the Lab with your friends, but that is no excuse to be THIS late! What we're you doing?!" She glared at him demandingly. He then explained to her everything but his envy towards his friends. He even showed her the egg. When she picked it up, she couldn't help but shed a tear. Many of Pallet Town's citizens knew that in her days of being a trainer, she was a rather famous pokemon breeder.

Handing the egg back to Lucas carefully and gently, she told him to wait in his room. Heading upstairs, he goes into his room and sets the egg carefully on a pillow and just stares at it.

"My very own pokemon egg! I can't believe it! Maybe if it hatches soon enough, the professor will allow me to use it as my starter pokemon!" He said cheerfully, smiling all the while. He was still staring at the egg when his mother came in with devices that he couldn't recognize and a book. After placing the items on his desk, she handed him the book, titled "Breeding Basics and Egg Care" and also stared at the egg.

"I have a feeling that you aren't going to be sleeping tonight, so I figured I would help you set up an incubator for your egg." She said, pointing to the strange device, which he now recognized as one of the smaller incubators that he always watched his mom use in the daycare she ran outside Cerulean City before they moved to Pallet Town eight years ago. It was as if she knew just the right thing to cheer him up. He hastily moved over to the incubator and helped her put it together. Once it was finished, he plugged it into the wall and placed his hand on the incubator, which looked like a small nest about a foot wide, and felt it for warmth. The soft padding felt like it was made from foam. Once it warmed up enough, he let his mother feel the pad. She nodded, indicating that he can put the egg on it. Gently, he grabbed the egg off his pillow and placed it on the incubator and watched as it sank about halfway down into the pad.

"Now Luke. Be sure to only turn on the incubator at night and unplug it in the morning. During the day, you're going to want to put it near the window so the sun will warm it. That's what this stand is for." She told him, handing him what looked like a ring with four legs. "Too much heat can injure the pokemon's growth. This is why most pokemon will heat their egg or eggs at night by laying on them and then will leave them during the day to soak in the sun's warmth instead."

"But if heat can hurt it, won't the sun's heat damage it too?" Lucas asked curiously.

"The sun's heat isn't as direct as the heat from the incubator. It won't smother it like the incubator will. That's why I would always take the eggs outside at the daycare in the mornings." She explained, pointing to the book. "That will tell you everything you need to know. Now don't stay up too late. I'm going to bed." She told him with a kiss on the forehead. As she walked toward the bedroom door, Lucas thanked her and she replied with a smile and shut the door.

All night he read the book, learning all kinds of techniques for raising a baby pokemon including how, what, and when to feed it. Eventually he came across the identification section, which showed known eggs and their patterns. Of all the eggs that he saw in that chapter, only three of them looked like his egg. He also noticed a single phrase on one of the pages, "An egg's pattern is only seen near the final stages of its incubation. Many use the pattern as an indicator of which pokemon may be inside of it. Note that it is not one hundred percent accurate, for there have been many cases of eggs taking on a pattern and the resulting pokemon had nothing to do with the said pattern, making content prediction very unpredictable. This is usually the case when pokemon of two different species breed."

For hours he continued to read the book, glancing at the egg from time to time. He wondered what pokemon could be inside. Noticing how tired he was, he glanced at his clock to find out that it was five in the morning. He put the book on his nightstand next to the incubator and crawled into bed, still staring at the egg.

"Well whatever you are... Just know that I won't judge you. You will be awesome no matter what pokemon you turn out to be." He said, starting to feel his eyelids grow heavy. Just as he began to shut his eyes, he could've sworn that he saw the egg wiggle slightly. However, he was now too tired to believe that it actually moved and fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five - Departure

Morning came all too soon as Lucas heard a knock on the door. Still tired from the lack of sleep, he groans and stretches as he looks at the clock. It was only seven thirty in the morning. Once again, he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in..." Lucas replied grumpily. Still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he hears the door open, followed by this mother's voice, "Your friends are here to see you. I told them that you would probably want to sleep in a little, but Rose insisted."

"Okay... Tell them I will be there in a minute..." He replies as his mother shuts the door. Slowly, he walks over to the dresser and begins to undress from the clothes of the day before. As he is getting dressed, however, the door opens and Rose walks in.

"Geez Light! How long are you gonna keep us wai-" An awkward silence lingers over them as they stare at each other, both blushing as Light stands there in just his boxers. Rose, letting out an embarrassed squeak-like noise, quickly turns away from him while he finished getting undressed. While he put on his clothes, she notices the incubator and begins examining it. "Is this what I think it is?" Rose asks. Still shirtless, he walks over to Rose and looks at the egg.

"Yeah, I found it at the beach last night! Pretty cool, right?" He replied, shirt forgotten in his hand.

"Yeah it is! How long until it hatches?!" She asked, still staring at the egg.

"I don't know... According to the book my mom gave me last night, it shouldn't take too long since it has a pattern on it. Although I could've sworn it moved last night before I fell asleep." He said, picking up the egg with his free hand and placing it in the stand near his window as instructed last night by his mother. "I kind of wish that I knew what pokemon was inside of it though... I don't know what to feed it when it hatches... The book says that most newly-born pokemon can just be fed milk for a couple weeks... however it also says that some pokemon need to be fed whole foods at birth. I swear if this thing hatches into a snorelax or a munchlax I'll be in some serious trouble." Lucas joked, making Rose laugh too.

"I'm sure the professor will help you out. Now I have one more question..." Rose said sheepishly.

"What would that be?"

"Can you... um..." She pinches her shirt and gives it a slight tug then points at him, blushing slightly. It takes him a minute to understand.

"Oh right! Sorry!" He says, putting his shirt on and tucking it in, then grabbing his jacket and slinging it over his shoulder. "Wait... what am I apologizing for? You're the one who just barged into my room while I was half naked!" He said teasingly, making her blush again.

"Oh shut up!" She retalliated, crossing her arms. "How was I supposed to know?!"

"There's this thing called knocking that most people do before entering a room... Maybe you should give it a try." He replied, smiling and winking at her. She just rolled her eyes and walked out before him as he shut the door behind him. As they walked into the living room, he looked around expecting to see Johnny and Blaze, however, neither one were to be found. "Huh... maybe they're outside..." Lucas said, heading over to the front door. Outside, there was still no sign of them. Sorrow began to overcome him. Noticing this, Rose walks over to him and lays a hand on his shoulder.

"Cheer up Light... I'm sure they're still around. Well, Johnny should be at least... You know my brother... Always impatient..." she said soothingly, trying to cheer him up. He just leans up against the fence and sighs.

"You would think that they would wait five minutes..." Light said, slightly depressed. All of a sudden he hears a ringing sound. Rose pulls her pokedex out of her bag's front pocket and opens it to answer the call. It was Johnny.

"Hey Rose, is Blaze with you?" Johnny asked.

"No we thought he was with you." Rose replied.

"Damn it! He better not have left yet!" Johnny said, anger obvious in his voice.

"You know how he is, Johnny... He's never been one to just sit around and wait."

"I know... but he's been acting strange all morning, wouldn't you agree?"

Rose looked as if deep in thought. "Now that you mention it... he's been acting strange the last few days..." She replied.

"Well I'm sure he would have a good reason for leaving without saying good bye to Light... Those two ARE best friends after all."

"Speaking of which, why did YOU leave?!"

"I forgot something at my house and I'm on my way back now. I just thought that maybe Blaze was still there."

"Okay we'll wait for you at Light's house then." She said, closing the Pokedex. She was obviously worried about Blaze, although you could see the frustration in her eyes. Light walked up to her and asked cautiously, "You think Blaze's okay? It's true that he's been acting kind of distant the last week or so... but still, you can never tell what Blaze is thinking... maybe he DID have a good reason for leaving so suddenly."

She didn't reply. Instead, she walked over to the stone bench near the garden. She started shaking slightly, obvously crying. As he approached her, Light stopped next to the bench to see if she would object to him being near her. When no such objection came, he sat next to her, not knowing what to do to cheer her up. Instinct came over him and he reached acrossed her back for her opposite shoulder. Once his hand was on her shoulder, she nudged closer to him and they sat together like that while she calmed down.

Once she stopped crying, she wiped the tears from her eyes, "Sorry that you saw that... I'm just upset because I know how hard it must be for you to see the three of us leave when you still have such a long time before you can leave too... And Blaze just leaving like that just made things worse..."

"It's okay Rose." He said, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. "Blaze puts on that tough guy act... but I know that he didn't intend to hurt anyone. I'm sure he just got a little impatient, as usual, and left before he couldn't anymore... I mean, yeah I'm upset that he left, but I can understand..." He smiled at her, who smiled back. For a few minutes, they just stared into each others' eyes. Suddenly, someone walks up to them.

"Umm... am I interrupting?" It was Johnny, who was staring at them both with a smirk on his face. Quickly they both stood up and took a step away from each other. Johnny just laughs and starts to walk away, "Well anyway, shall we get going?" he asks, still walking towards the road. They run to catch up with him.

Twenty minutes of chatting, and a lot of teasing from Johnny and a punch to his arm from Rose, they finally reach Route 1. They all just stand there, none of them saying a word as they stared off into the horizon. Finally, Johnny says his good byes and starts to head out before Rose, claiming that if he stayed much longer he would never leave. Rose and Light just stared at Johnny until he couldn't be seen.

After about ten minutes of silence, Light turns to Rose, "Well... I guess you should get going..." he tells her, making no attempt to hide the sadness in his voice. For a minute she didn't respond, instead she flings her arms around him and hugs him. He could feel his face growing bright red. Slowly he returned the gesture. Finally she let go and ran off, waving back and smiling as she did so. He waved back. It wasn't until she could barely be seen anymore when he finally started to walk home. He couldn't help but remember how it felt to hug Rose, how warm she felt... how comforting it was to hold her... the smell of strawberries from the perfume she was wearing still lingered on his clothes... It was no mystery that he liked her, and he was pretty sure that she liked him too. However, valuing the friendship they had, he never questioned her about her feelings and decided that she would talk about it when she felt like it.

As he walked back home, he hears something running up to him. He turns around to find an Umbreon, more than likely the professor's, running up to him. Once she was close enough, he kneels down to let her sniff his hand. She nuzzles his hand and allows him to pet her, purring as he did.

"Hey there Umbreon... Is the Professor nearby?" Umbreon just continued to purr as he scratched behind her ear. Once he stopped, he noticed that there was something tied to her leg. As he reached for it, Umbreon lifted her paw and allowed him to untie it. It was a message from the Professor to him.

"Lucas,

I know it must be hard for you to see your friends leave. I was worried about you last night so I figured I would invite you to come over tomorrow so we can work on your Pokedex design. I figured that might help cheer you up a bit.

Gary.

P.S. Bring the egg with you. Your mother called me and told me about it and I might have a little something that might help you out a little bit."

Once he finished reading the letter, he pet Umbreon on the head and thanked her. She wagged her tail and said, "Umbree!" before running off towards the direction of the Lab. Once he got back home, his stomach was growling up a storm, so he went to the kitchen and made a sandwich. Once he finished, he went upstairs and looked at the window to see how the egg was doing, only to find an empty shell and a trail of egg shell pieces that led to his bed. Excited, he looked under the bed to find nothing but dust and a pair of socks that he was looking for. It was when he heard a small squeak that he looked on top of his bed and sure enough, curled up in his blanket, was a small Abra that could fit in the palm of his hand.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six - An Unexpected Encounter

"PROFESSOR!" Lucas shouted as he flung the door to the Pokemon Lab open with one hand, the other held close to his chest. Gary, who was working on some paperwork at his desk, jumped out of his seat wide-eyed in shock at the sudden entrance. Umbreon, who was sleeping in Gary's lap, gave an aggravated yowl as she hit the floor. Slowly, and out of breath, Lucas walked over to him, "It... the egg... It hatched!" He said, panting heavily.

Gary, ignoring Umbreon's swat to his leg, gave him a puzzled glance, "Did you run all the way here?! Your house is about a twenty minute walk from-"

"I know I know... But look!" Lucas held out the hand that was held cupped to his chest to reveal the baby abra. Gary stared at it for a moment, then slowly reached out for it. With a nod from Lucas, Gary gently lifted the abra into his hands. Right away he could tell that it wasn't an ordinary abra. For starters, it had what appeared to be a type of gem, white in color, on its forehead, the ring patern on its tail was a teal color, the natural armor that every abra wore, although it was soft now since it was just born, was also a teal color. However, what stood out the most was that its eyes were open, revealing a blue left eye and a red right eye.

"Well now... I didn't expect it to hatch so soon... Your mother told me that it had a pattern on the egg, but to think it would hatch after only one night of incubation..." Gary said, still examining the baby pokemon.

"Neither did I. Although I will admit I saw it wiggling around last night before I went to sleep. I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks on me from being up so late..." Lucas explained, finally starting to catch his breath.

"I see..." Gary muttered, still staring at the abra, who was now stretching its arms out. Gary wiggled the finger it was reaching for and it squeaked excitedly. The sudden noise seemed to get Umbreon's attention, who was now staring at Gary's hand with her head cocked slightly to one side. "I take it that it was its odd appearance that made you rush over here today instead of tomorrow?" Gary asked Lucas, who nodded his response. Gary walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle and gave it to Lucas, who practically drained three quarters of it in one gulp.

"Thanks Professor." Lucas said as he sat down. "So what do you think of it?" He asked, pointing to the abra.

"To be honest Luke... I have no idea what to think. I have never seen an abra like this. Even an abra with an odd color doesn't look like this." Gary replied, walking over to his desk, sitting down again and pulling up a picture of an odd-colored abra. From what Lucas could tell, the only thing that was different was that its natural color was just a little brighter, and its eyes were definitely closed. He looked back to the abra, who was now sitting on the desk staring at him and being closely watched by a curious Umbreon from Gary's lap.

Suddenly Lucas felt an odd chilling sensation, similar to the feeling of getting ice cold water dumped on you, that started from his head and made its way down to his toes, making him shudder slightly. A couple of seconds later he felt it again. Gary stared at him, concerned.

"Are you okay?" Gary asked, "If you need the bathroom it's right over there." he pointed toward the door behind the table where Rose, Blaze and Johnny got their first pokemon. Lucas just shook his head.

"No, I'm okay. Just got a chill all of a sudden..." He stared at the abra again and felt another chill. "I think it has something to do with the abra."

"Well I'll have Rick take a look at it. Maybe he can reveal a few things about our mysterious friend here. Ah! Speak of the devil!" Gary said, spotting Rick as he walked into the lab from the back. Gary signalled for him to come over. Walking over to the desk, Rick immediately noticed the abra and stared at it in awe.

"What kind of-" Rick started, but Gary cut him off. "That was what I was going to ask you to find out for us. This abra hatched from the egg that Lucas found yesterday. I've never seen such a drastic change in a pokemon's appearance before and I was hoping that maybe you would be able to find out a thing or two." Although he tried to look serious, excitement still showed in Rick's face as he gently picked up the abra and took it over to the clinic on the second floor. Concern shot across Lucas's face.

"He's not going to do any wierd experiments on it is he?" he asked Gary, who shook his head with a grin.

"No, he's just going to give it a check-up. You see, Rick used to be a breeder like your mother before he came to work for me. Of course, he still handles the eggs that are found in the habitats. The only thing that he's going to do is draw a little blood to see if it's healthy, check the gender, stuff like that. Nothing to worry about." Gary said calmly, soothing Lucas's worry. "Well, since you're here, we might as well get started on your pokedex design. I'll call Leanne too so you two can meet and design your pokedexes together." he said, pulling out his cell phone.

For about thirty seconds, only Umbreon's purring could be heard. Finally the professor's voice broke the silence, "Hey Leanne. Come on over to the lab... No we're doing it today instead since Lucas is already here... I don't know, they're your clothes, not mine. Just pick something and come on over. All we're doing is designing your Pokedexes... Okay we're at my desk... Bye." Once he hung up, he sighed, "As if I know anything about women's fashion." He said, chuckling.

About ten minutes later, a girl walked into the lab dressed in a blue skirt and white t-shirt, her long brown hair was tied in a ponytail with a blue ribbon and she was maybe an inch shorter than Lucas. As she walked over to the desk, she stopped next to Lucas, "Hi! I'm Leanne! Nice to officially meet you!" She said in a cute and bubbly manner as she held her hand out. As Lucas stood up and shook her hand, he introduced himself to her and then they both sat down.

"Okay then, now that the both of you are here..." Gary said, digging through one of the drawers in his desk and pulling out what looked like a sketch pad and a pencil. "Let's get started."

For about an hour, they worked on Leanne's design: a person who looked like a jolteon playing the guitar, behind him was a girl that resembled a vaporeon playing the drums, and next to the joteon guy was a girl that looked like a flareon singing into a microphone. Finally, when Lucas suggested musical notes floating around them, it was finished. It did look pretty cool and the notes gave it just the right touch that made it seem like the image would come to life and perform for them personally. Gary carefully tore the page out of the sketchbook and put it into the fax machine next to his computer.

"Okay, I sent it. I'll have it ready for you when you start your journey." Gary told Leanne, whose attention was fixated on the clinic door upstairs ever since Rick swore loudly a minute ago. "Don't worry, he probably hit his head on the shelf in there again. Anyway, your turn Luke."

"I don't know what I want yet Professor... I need a minute to think." Gary nodded and asked Leanne to acompany him into the kitchen to help prepare lunch. Luke was about to join them when Gary insisted that he stay and think about his design. No matter how hard he tried, however, he couldn't think of anything that really clicked with him. Even as they ate some chicken salad sandwiches and started to help him brainstorm ideas, he still couldn't decide.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Come in, it's open." Gary said. The door slowly opened and a Pikachu came rushing in, causing Umbreon to jump off of Gary's lap and start playing with it. Once the door was fully opened, a tall man with shoulder-length shaggy black hair and brown eyes, wearing a long blue coat that trailed to his ankles with a white t-shirt underneath, jeans and black boots walked into the lab and over to the desk.

"How've you been Gary? Long time no see." The stranger said, smiling as he embraced Gary in a one armed hug. "What's it been, seventeen years now? Damn you're even getting gray hair like your gramps!" he laughed. Gary laughed in return.

"Nah, it's more of a silver color. Makes me look destinguished. When are you going to stop dying your hair to hide all the gray YOU have?" Gary teased.

"What?! This is all natural!" the stranger replied, rubbing a hand through his hair. "Still a ball-buster I see. Glad to see you haven't changed much."

"Likewise Ashey-boy! You need to visit more often." Gary replied. "Just because you're a master trainer now doesn't mean you can't come to visit us every once in a while." At the mention of the name Ashey-boy, Lucas's jaw just dropped. Right in front of him, in the very same room as him, was one of Pallet Town's finest pokemon trainers and his idol; Ash Ketchum.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven - Sai

For the next hour, all of Lucas's attention was focused on Ash as he talked to Gary. Who could blame him though? His idol was sitting right next to him. Lucas was so nervous, even when Ash introduced himself he couldn't speak. It was Leanne who brought him to his senses by nudging his arm.

"I'm sorry sir! What did you say?" Lucas asked suddenly. Ash only chuckled and repeated the question.

"What is your name?" Lucas had trouble at first, but he eventually found the words.

"I'm Lucas, sir. Lucas Ivere." He said.

"You don't have to call me sir, Lucas." Ash said, patting Lucas's shoulder.

"Why not?" Lucas asked respectfully. Ash was about to answer when Gary interrupted him.

"Because he REALLY likes to be called ma'am." Gary joked, laughing. Ash just rolled his eyes and gave him the middle finger.

"At least I have the hair for it. By the looks of it you won't have hair for much longer." Ash retaliated, winking at Lucas as he did so. Lucas could finally feel himself becoming less nervous as he saw how easy going and laid back Ash truly was, and not stuck up and demanding of respect like other master trainers. Currently there are only seven master trainers in the world: Lilly the Enchanter, Roran the Brute, Adrian the Tempest, Jennifer the Torrent, Ricka the Toxic, Ash the Bolt, and finally was the mysterious seventh master trainer, who only reveals themself to those who have beaten the other six master trainers. The only known bit of information that almost everyone knows is their master trainer title, The Ragnarok. Only three trainers have ever been able to challenge them, only to find a defeat so devastating that all three have given up on their journeys, one even lost their sanity, constantly saying that he had the powers of a pokemon.

"So Lucas, I hear that you are starting your journey soon. Have you decided what pokemon you are going to start off with?" Ash asked him, although Gary answered for him.

"Actually, he technically already has a pokemon... A rather unusual one, however..." Gary said seriously, staring over to the Clinic door.

"Oh? What's so unsusual about it?" Ash replied, also staring at the clinic door.

"You'll see when Rick finishes the check-up. It just hatched this morning according to Luke." Gary told him. Ash, figuring that he won't get any more answers until the pokemon was brought back to Lucas, he continues to talk to Lucas.

"Well if that's the case, who WOULD you have picked if you could?" Ash asked, curiosity apparent in his eyes.

"Well, I was thinking about choosing a charmander. Although I would have loved to start off with a Pikachu like you did! Pikachu is my favorite pokemon!" Lucas said, smiling. Ash couldn't help but smile back as he looked at what could have easily been him at that age.

"Maybe one day you'll find one for yourself. Let me tell you a little secret. In Viridian Forest, it is said that hidden somewhere in the thickest area of the forest is a huge oak tree where a pack of pikachu live. Nobody has ever seen it though, but it could be true. They are usually seen on the western side of the forest, so maybe that's where the tree is, if it even exists." Ash told him, winking. Lucas's eyes and smile widened at the news. If there truly was a pack of Pikachu in Viridian Forest, he was going to look for it. About fifteen minutes later, Rick returns with the abra. Everyone stood up to await the results of the check-up.

"Well, he's definitely healthy, no question there. Oh yeah, he's a boy." Rick said, handing the abra back to Lucas. Once again he felt the chilling sensation rush through him as he stared into the abra's eyes. finally looking away, he looked at Ash who was staring at the abra. However it wasn't a look of intrigue, but one of seriousness.

"What's wrong Ash?" Lucas and Gary asked in unison. Ash ignored them and moved closer to Lucas, inspecting the abra thoroughly. Now his serious look turned to what appeared to be an odd misture of happiness and sorrow; his face showed a smile, however his eyes looked grim.

"Nothing... it's nothing." Ash reassured them. "That's not a shiny, is it?"

"That's what I thought at first, but a shiny abra only has a lighter complexion... it certainly doesn't look like that." Gary answered. All of a sudden, Lucas felt another chill, only this time it lasted longer and he could have sworn he heard a whisper, but shrugged it off. When he looked around, he noticed that everyone was staring at him with concern.

"What?" Lucas asked.

"You sort of went rubber-kneed." Leanne replied.

"I did? When?"

"Just now!" She said, worry written all over her face. Even he was concerned now. How could he not notice something like that? Everyone was silent for about thirty seconds when Gary spoke up.

"Well, this abra is nameless. I say you should give it a nickname, Luke." Gary told Lucas. He thought for a minute, then he felt another chill. He heard the whisper again, only this time it was a little easier to understand, _Sai._

"Huh?" Lucas said, looking around to find out who whispered to him.

"What're you doing?" Leanne asked.

"Someone whispered to me."

"Luke, nobody said a word..." Gary replied, concern in his expression again. He heard it again, _Sai... Name... Sai. _It was a child's voice, that much was clear from the childish tone. The voice seemed to struggle to speak, _Sai... Name... Sai... Daddy._ With the last word, however, he knew exactly where it came from: it was his abra!

"Sai. I'll name him Sai." He told everyone, holding Sai close to his chest. Once again he felt the chill, only this time it stayed in his head as an image appeared in his mind. There was a man holding what appeared to be a sword. He had long black hair that reached his waist and was wearing a black jacket that trailed down to his ankles like Ash's. He couldn't see the man's face since his back was turned as he looked toward the horizon of a beach at sunset. Once the image faded into his memories, he grabbed the sketchbook himself and started to draw the image, finally deciding on his pokedex's design.

About an hour later, everyone started to leave. Leanne was first, claiming that she had violin practice. As Ash and Lucas went to leave, however, Gary stopped Lucas and handed him what looked like a necklace with a strange-looking black and white orb on it with a red line seperating the two colors. Lucas stared at Gary, puzzled.

"It's my new pokeball design. I call it the celestial ball. It can detach from the necklace and be used as a regular pokeball." Gary explained. Lucas the took the ball off the chain and pressed the center of the celestial ball, causing it to go into active mode. Now that it was bigger, he noticed a white crescent, ponting up with a line reaching out from the center of it and stopping just shortly past the points on the crescent. He understood now why Gary was giving this to him, so he tapped Sai with it and into the ball he went. As soon as the ball closed, however, he felt a wave of fear and dread spread throughout his body. As soon as the ball stopped shaking in his hand, signalling that Sai was registered to the celestial ball, he let him back out. He was shaking terribly, obviously afraid.

"Maybe I should wait until he's a little older..." Lucas thought, staring at Gary.

"He does look pretty shaken up over it... Maybe you're right. By the way, that design of yours is amazing! Even the company who puts the designs on the pokedexes sent a reply saying it was one of the best they've seen!" Gary praised. Lucas thanked him and said goodbye as he walked out the door to find that Ash was waiting outside for him.

"Hey Luke. That abra of yours... guard him well. There's a new group forming that's stealing pokemon and using them for wierd experiments. They're still small time, but they are looking for unusual pokemon... and let's face it, that abra is pretty unusual." Ash said seriously, staring at both him and Sai. "Anyway, I'll be in town for a few months visiting my mother. I'll see you around." He said, walking away and heading toward the beach.

Once Lucas got home, his mother immediately looked at Sai and gently picked him up from his hand. She was just as stunned as everyone else at his strange color and the fact his eyes were open didn't ease the feeling. Finally getting Sai back from her, he went upstairs and got dressed into his night clothes and decided that he would go to bed early. Sai was staring at him from the bed and once again he heard the whisper, _Daddy._ Now he knew he wasn't hearing things: Sai was somehow attempting to talk to him mentally!

"It's Lucas. Sorry buddy, but I'm not your daddy... But I would love for us to be friends." Lucas said to Sai, smiling.

_Not... Daddy? _

"Sorry, but no... I only found you as an egg." Lucas explained.

_Lu... cas... friend?_

"Yeah. I'm your friend." Lucas said, laying on the bed and picking up Sai and placing him on his chest. "Now and forever, I'll always be around to protect you."

_Lucas... Sai... Friends... Forever._ With those words, Sai started to fall asleep on Luke's chest. It wasn't long before Luke fll asleep too.

For the next seven weeks, Luke fed and took care of Sai, making sure that his mother didn't spoil him too much. Surprisingly, Sai didn't eat much. Usually just once a day he would drink a small four ounce bottle of milk, as was instructed by his mother, and he was content. Within the first week Sai grew twice in size and learned how to stand on two feet. Walking wasn't an option until the next week though, when his body was a little more developed.

After a month, Sai was fully grown, standing at about two inches above Luke's knee. His armor became harder and his speech became clearer as well and was now able to form full sentences mentally to Luke. By the end of the second month, Luke had figured out how to talk to Sai mentally as well, causing his mother to freak out every so often whenever they would start laughing together over something they talked about in their mental link. Sai's laugh was kind of high pitched, but sounded oddly human.

Ash even came by to check on them from time to time. The first time he brought a young boy about Luke's age with him, his son Derek. He looked exactly like Ash except his hair was short and light brown and his eyes were a light blue. He also sported a jacket similar to Ash's, only his was white and sleeveless and wore a long sleeve black shirt underneath tucked into a pair of black jeans. They immediately became good friends with a lot of similar intrests, including music, foods, hobbies, and even had a Pichu, more than likely the child of Ash's Pikachu, that played with Sai all day long. When Ash told Luke that Derek would be starting his journey the same day as he was, he shouted with joy and suggested that they should travel together. Derek agreed almost instantly. Then he had the idea to invite Leanne, so he called her and gave her directions to his house. When they asked her, she agreed and hung out with them the rest of the day, listening to Ash's stories from his journey.

Every so often Luke would recall Sai to his pokeball, with Sai's consent of course. Eventually he overcame his fear of it, however he didn't like to be inside of it if he could help it, so Luke decided that maybe Sai could be like Ash and his pikachu and he could just walk with him, resorting to put Sai in the celestial ball only when necessary.

About a week away from the beginning of Luke's journey, Abra had learned how to use Teleport and, oddly enough, Hidden Power. A couple of times he accidentally teleported himself into the bathroom while his mother was in the shower, causing her to freak out and even throw a bottle of shampoo at the wall. It truly was an accident, however, considering that he didn't have it down completely yet. By the night before the start of Luke's journey, he had it mastered with the help of a few old hoola hoops that Leanne had given them to practice with. The objective was for Abra to teleport into the hoop that Luke pointed to.

The night before they would head to the Lab, Luke decided that he, Leanne and Derek should all have a sleepover at his place, with his mom's permission of course, so they could all start their journey together. Most of the evening they spent playing video games and watching movies, but they also went outside to have a battle between Pichu and Sai. Pichu had more training than Sai so it was pretty one sided but Sai did put up quite a fight by constantly using Teleport to throw off Pichu's aim and even managing to hit her with Hidden Power a couple of times before Derek wised up to Sai's pattern and had her use Thundershock on one of the fence poles before Sai reappeared, making him think that it was Pichu, but then she aimed another Thundershock at him and made her mark, ending the battle.

Once the battle was over, they all took turns taking showers and cleaning up for bed. They all slept in Luke's room since it was on the other side of the house from his mother's room so they wouldn't wake her up. The boys were to sleep on the roll-out matresses while Leanne slept on the bed, despite her refusal. Leanne also surprised the boys by getting changed in the same room as them. They couldn't help but blush as they turned away quickly, faces cherry red, once they realized what she was doing. She claimed that she used to share a room with her older brother Kyle and she just got used to dressing around guys. The boys, however, insisted that despite her comfort with dressing in front of other guys that she turn around while they got changed.

Once they were all settled in bed, it wasn't long before Derek, Pichu and Leanne were sleeping. Luke, however, was wide awake having a mental conversation with Sai to avoid waking them up.

_So Sai, are you excited buddy?_ Luke asked, looking over to Sai, who was laying down on his bed on the bay window ledge.

_You know it! I can't wait! I want to see everything we can! _Sai replied enthusiastically.

_Same here. This will be awesome! Just the five of us, travelling all across Kanto and making new friends along the way..._

_Speaking of friends... Will I ever get to meet those friends that you keep telling me about?_

_You mean Blaze, Johnny and Rose? I'm sure we'll meet up eventually, however it might be a while since they had a three month head start._ Luke sighed deeply as he thought of them, especially Rose... He could still feel the warmth of her body against his as she hugged him that day... Sai sensed this and started to try and cheer him up.

_You'll see her again... I know you will._ Sai reassured Luke.

_I hope so buddy..._ He replied, staring at the picture of him, Johnny, Blaze and Rose that was on his nightstand and focusing more on Rose than the others. _I hope so..._


	8. Chapter 7X

Chapter Seven X - Rematch

I't's been a month since Sai hatched and Ash has decided to visit Gary at the lab to make up for lost time. For a little bit Ash and Gary swap life stories, such as Gary marrying his wife and once Leanne was born, she left and never came back. Ash told him about how he met up again with Misty and started dating, but decided that they would be better off as friends. Eventually he got around to the story of how he met up again with May in the Sinnoh Region and has been keeping a long distance relationship with her. Once he finally conquered all six leagues and became a Master himself, the two of them decided to settle down and get married.

For hours they talked about their pasts, including the battles the two of them had. In particular...

"Hey Ash, you remember our battle in the Johlt League Championship?" Gary asked, staring at Ash from his seat behind his desk. Ash couldn't help but laugh.

"How could I forget?! That was one of the most intese battles I ever had! It could have gone either way." Ash said, smiling.

"Same here. It was a really close match. We had the entire stadium on the tips of their toes. Everyone who was watching that battle learned first hand how strong trainers from Pallet Town can be." Gary replied, staring at teh picture of his grandfather. "You know, when I came back here after that battle, Gramps told me that he was proud of the both of us. 'Never have I ever seen such an amazing battle other than the battle between Red and Blue themselves for the title of Kanto League Champion forty five years ago.' Those were his exact words..." A single tear raced down Gary's face. The same thing happened to Ash, who considered the late professor as his own father considering how much he has done for him as a kid.

Suddenly, Gary gets up and walks over to the back door, looking back at Ash with a smirk.

"Hey Ash! You think you could beat me again like you did in the Johto League? Or are you too much of a big shot to take on your old rival?" Gary teased, pulling out a pokeball from the pocket of his lab coat. Ash quickly responds by pulling out a pokeball of his own.

"My pokemon and I have become much stronger since the Johto League, you know... There's a reason I became a Master, after all..." Ash replied with the same smirk.

"Just because I'm a professor now doesn't mean I neglected my duty to my pokemon as their trainer! You'll see that I am more than a match for you, Ashey-boy!" Ash just smiles and walks over to Gary. As they walk outside, however, Gary stops all of a sudden, "You know... A lot of people in Pallet Town would love to see Ash the Bolt battle in person..." Gary hinted, winking as he finished the statement. Picking up on Gary's idea, he pulled out his cell phone and called his son and told him to start telling everyone about the battle while Gary did the same with Leanne. With the help of some of the fighting-type pokemon at the lab, Gary and Ash had bleachers set up from the storage house in the back. An hour later, the bleachers were packed with what seemed to be every citizen in Pallet Town. Even a camera crew showed up for the news to air the battle live for everyone to see.

"This is channel eight news live from the infamous Pallet Town Pokemon Research Lab. I'm Trisha Seguya and I am excited to announce that I will be broadcasting live as a battle between two of Pallet Town's finest pokemon trainers takes place! Gary Oak, the current professor of the lab, against one of the seven master trainers Ash Ketchum, also known as 'The Bolt.' Now many will remember thirty three years ago, these two faced off in one of the most memorable battles in history when they battled for the Johto League Champioship title. Will the results be the same or has Gary surpassed the talents of even a Master?! Stay tuned in and find out." The reporter said with a smile. Once everyone was settled, The crowd went quiet as Rick took his place in the center of the slab.

"Welcome everyone and thank you for coming! My name is Rick and I will be the referee for this battle. This will be a rematch between Ash the Bolt and Gary Oak. This will be six against six single battle. The trainer to sucessfully defeat all of the opposing trainer's pokemon will be the victor. There will be no switching out pokemon during the battle unless a pokemon is defeated. There will be no time limit. Now then, let's welcome our competitors!" Rick yelled out, signalling for both Ash and Gary to join him. Both of them approached, shook hands, and walked to their lines. Rick then ran over to the referee's stand and sat down in the chair. Once he saw that both of them were ready, he pulled a coin out of his pocket.

"Trainers, choose your first pokemon!" Rick exclaimed, followed by a roaring cheer from the crowd.

Both Ash and Gary threw their first pokemball into the center. Ash chose his Samurott, who immediately took an offensive stance, pointing its sword-like horn at Gary. Gary chose his Scizor, who stood there calm and collected, both claws pointing down and staring coldly at Samurott.

Rick then took a coin from his pocket and held it out for everyone to see, "Once this coin hits the slab, the battle will begin." He said, flipping the coin into the air. NOthing could be heard aside from the breeze as everyone watched, holding their breath, as the coin slowly rose into the air, then began to desend toward the slab. The tension between both pokemon could be cut with a knife... Finally, the coin hit the ground and both pokemon moved so fast that they were blurred as they backed away from each other to gain some distance and the battle officially began.

"Samurott use Swords Dance, then follow up with Aqua Jet!" Ash commanded. Samurott ponted his horn toward Scizor then moved his head in a circle, causing his horn to glow, then rushed at Scizor with blinding speed, cloaked in a watery aura. Scizor seemed to anticipate the move and jumped to the side to avoid the attack, however, Samurott quickly spun around and aimed for Scizor's back and made contact with his left leg, causing Scizor to kneel when he hit the ground.

"Scizor use Hyper Beam!" Gary shouted to Scizor, who opened his left claw and aimed at Samurott carefully, and fired a huge beam of light at it, but Samurott dodged it and rushed around to Scizor's right side, aiming another Aqua Jet at him. However, Scizor's right claw, which was hidden behind him, suddenly sprung toward Samurott and fired another Hyper Beam and hit Samurott dead on, causing him to fly back several yards and was having a hard time getting up. It obviously hit a critical point and a clever strategy; taking advantage of Scizor's two claws to charge only half the energy in each one to fire two Hyper Beams.

Samurott struggled to its feet and prepared to attack again, however, Gary already gave his command and Scizor flew in for the win, both claws trailing behind him and swung both arms forward using X-Scissor, hitting Samurott in the chest. Samurott stumbled back with a cry and fell to his side unconcious.

"Samurott is unable to battle. This match goes to Scizor!" Rick exclaimed as Ash recalled Samurott and Gary recalled his Scizor. The crowd roared with excitement.

"What's wrong Ash? You're not holding back, are ya?" Gary taunted, pulling out another pokeball. Ash just laughed as he pulled out his next pokeball.

"You know that I would never do that! Your Scizor was insanely fast! It has the Light Metal ability, doesn't it?" Ash asked. Gary smiled, giving away his answer as he threw out his next pokeball, revealing a Fearow, who spread its wings and pointed its long pointed beak at Ash, who responded with releasing his Pidgeot, who immediately took flight. Gary seemed shocked by the sight of Pidgeot.

"When did you get another Pidgeot?" Gary asked.

"Never did. This is the same one that I gave to that school to help protect the Pidgey and Pidgeotto there. Now that there are several Pidgeot there, my buddy here came looking for me as I went to challenge the other Masters. It was thanks to him that I was able to beat Roran the Brute! Think you can handle him?" Ash said with a grin. With that, Gary's Fearow rushed at Pidgeot, but Pidgeot's speed was no joke as it seemingly disappeared and reappeared behind Fearow and used Wing Attack, connecting with Fearow's back and following up with a Gust attack to push it down closer to the ground, then finished up the combo with a Quick Attack and struck Fearow right in the back once again, landing a critical blow. Pidgeot then flew up, then straight back down, Fearow still trying to regain control of its descent, and kicked into Fearow's back with its talon, adding more speed to Fearow's descent. Unable to recover, Fearow slams into the slab, the impact causing cracks in the slab.

The crowd all shouted "Ouch!" in unison as Fearow came crashing down with Pidgeot on its back. Fearow tried to get up stubbornly, but Pidgeot rose into the sky and started flying in a circle above Fearow, clouds forming around his path and spinning with Pidgeot's path. Gary knew what was coming next and tried to encourage Fearow to move, but Fearow's left wing seemed to be injured from the Wing Attack and Gary knew right then and there that there was nothing he could do as the storm gathered overhead as Pidgeot used the mighty Hurricane attack. Once the winds were strong enough, several tornadoes formed from the storm clouds and surrounded Fearow, slowly spiraling towards him and eventually meeting to twist and intertwine with eachother to create one masive tornado with no escape for Fearow. Once the storm subsided, FEarow was found on the ground unconcious.

"Fearow is unable to battle! This match goes to Pidgeot!" Rick yealled, causing the crowd to cheer again. Ash recalled his Pidgeot and readied another pokeball, as did Gary who was still stunned that Fearow couldn't even make a single scratch on Pidgeot. Both trainers threw their third pokemon into battle: Gary's Arcanine and Ash's Meganium. Immediately both pokemon rushed to their trainers affectionately and began licking their faces, causing the crowd to laugh. After about three minutes of this, they return to the slab and ready themselves for battle.

Ash and Gary shouted their commands and Arcanine was the first to move using Extremespeed. Moving at a speed that almost matched even Pidgeot's, Arcanine hits Meganium in the side and almost knocks her over, but she regains her balance and grabs Arcanine by the back legs with Vine Whip, lifts him up, and slams him to the ground, then follows up by pulling Arcanine toward her with her vines and jumps over him as he got closer, then dropped down hard using Body Slam. Getting off of him, Meganium retracts her vines and steps toward the motionless Arcanine, concern and worry in her eyes.

However, Arcanine suddenly appears right behind Meganium and spews a jet of flame from its mouth, the Arcanine on the ground disappearing. The flames completely engulfed Meganium, showing that the Agility and Flamethrower combo worked beautifully. However, as Arcanine shut its mouth to halt the flames, Meganium was revealed cloaked in a pink dome of energy that seemed to be originating from Meganium's now glowing leaves. Gary looked at Meganium, impressed.

"Not bad, Ashey-boy! Your Meganium has some neat tricks! That Light Screen seriously just saved her from a brutal combo."

"Not bad yourself! That was a good use of Agility, and a fine example of it too. I never seen a Pokemon use Agility so well that it could leave a copy of itself behind, but that wasn't all there was to it, was there?" Ash asked.

"So you noticed, huh? Yeah he used Extremespeed to enhance the effect of Agility. It took a lot of practice, but we managed to get it to work." Gary bragged.

"I'll have to keep that one in mind." Ash said with a smirk. The battle resumed with Meganium's petals beginning to shake violently. Gary recognized the signs of the deadly Leaf Blizzard attack and shouted frantically for Arcanine to stop Meganium, but it was too late, Meganium unleashed a massive burst of tiny leaves into the air. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of leaves started raining down onto the entire slab like tiny blades, stabbing Arcanine repeatedly. Arcanine let out a roar and became engulfed in a flame that rages like an uncontrolable inferno and rushed at Meganium with Flare Blitz, hitting her right in the head and knocking her out. Ash recalled her and Gary called back Arcanine.

"Meganium is unable to battle! Arcanine wins this match!" Rick said, with the usual applause and cheer from the crowd.

The next match was Ash's Gengar, which he had retrieved from Saffron City when he visited Sabrina, and Gary's Electivire. Almost instantly, Gengar disappeared and reappeared behind Electivire and hit him with a close range Shadow Ball, knocking Electivire forward. Electivire regains his balance and counters with a Thunder Punch, but misses as Gengar jumps onto Electivire's arm and uses Hypnosis. It took a minute, but eventually Electivire falls asleep. Gengar follows through with a Nightmare and Dream Eater combination, a deadly set of attacks to any sleeping pokemon. Eventually, Electivire falls to his knees and out for the count, followed by Rick's announcement.

Next was Pidgeot and Scizor, who was still injured. However, despite his injured leg, Scizor was able to keep up with Pidgeot as he got behind Pidgeot and used an X-Scissor to knock him down and followed up with Guillotine, which made its mark at Pidgeot's neck and slammed him into the ground and knocking him out.

Gengar and Arcanine took the next match. Arcanine, still tired and hurt from the recoil of Flare Blitz, was moving slower than he did in the battle with Meganium, giving Gengar the edge that he needed as he dodged a Flamethrower and used Night Shade to cast a dark shroud around Arcaning, then send a volley of Shadow Balls at him through the shroud. Landing in front of Arcanine, still shrouded in the Night Shade, he is suddenly hit with a cross of fire, a Fire Blast, that emerged from the shroud and Arcanine dashed after it with Extremespeed. Gengar, however, managed to get away from the Fire Blast just in time to use Sucker Punch on Arcanine to send him flying, then sends another Shadow Ball at him, hitting Arcanine in the face and ending the battle.

Next up was Scizor again, and Ash decided to leave Gengar in for the battle. Immediately Gengar attacks with Sucker Punch, but Scizor dodges it with Agility and retalliates with Night Slash, leaving its mark on Gengar ans he struggled to get back up. As Scizor moved in for the kill with one last Night Slash, Gengar casts what appeared to be a red thread and it attaches itself to Scizor and himself. Once the Night Slash connected, successfully defeating Gengar, Scizor suddenly drops to its knees and a blue smoke emits from its body, then collapses next to Gengar. It was a clever move, linking the two Pokemon with Destiny Bond before the final blow.

Now It was Gary's Blastoise against Ash's Charizard.

Charizard was the first to move, rushing at Blastoise only to stop only inches away from his opponent and rush into the sky, causing Blastoise to stagger backward in surprise. He then aimed his cannons and started firing Water Gun in rapid succession at Charizard, who dodged every single one of the attacks with both ease and grace. Charizard then rushed down at Blastoise with the speed of a bullet, his jaws engulfed in flames, and bites Blastoise in the arm with Fire Fang. Then, while he still had Blastoise in his grip, flames started spewing from the sides of his mouth and completely engulfed Blasoise, and the whole slab, in a searing flame. Once the flames died down, Blastoise shook Charizard loose and aimed a cannon at him, firing a Hydro Pump at him. at such a close range, even Charizard couldnt avoid the rushint torrent as it sent him flying back towards the mountain behind Ash.

Charizard, who seemed to be having a hard time getting up, looked over to Ash and nodded. Ash then pulled out a white ring and put it on. He then pointed his hand that the ring was on at Charizard, who started to glow fiercely and, with a roar so strong that it shook the very ground, he became engulfed in a white flame. From the flames spanned two large wings and a long tail. Eventually the flames subsided and revealed Charizard once more, only he had wings on his arms, the wings on his back were now three times their original size, and the horn on his head was accompanied by two more. It glared at Blastoise with a blank glance.

"Well THIS is a surprise! Then again, I should've known that a Master would know about Mega Evolution. However..." Gary said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a ring similar to Ash's. "You don't have to be a Master to know Mega Evolution! LET'S GO BLASTOISE!"

Blastoise became engulfed in a sphere of rushing water and emerged with a single giant cannon on his back and two more cannons on his forearm, all three aimed at Charizard. Blastoise fired three high-powered Water Gun attacks at Charizard, who dodged with such speed that it made Pidgeot's speed look like child's play. HE struck Blastoise three times with a high-speed Wing Attack, even managing to leave decent sized cuts in his shell. Blastoise then lowered his arms and fired a continuous stream of water so strong that it propelled him at Charizard and he crashed head-first into Carizard's stomach with a Skull Bash, knockong the wind out of him. Taking advantage of Charizard's temporary weakness, Blastoise propells himself into the air above Charizard, aims all three cannons at him as he began to descent, then fired a huge beam of water at Charizard: the legendary Hydro Cannon attack that only the most powerful of water-type pokemon can master. Charizard, finally catching his breath, retalliated by engulfing himself in a white flame and releasing a powerful Blast Burn toward the incoming Hydro Cannon attack. Once the two attacks collided, a dense fog fell over them. Nothing could be heard or seen...

Finally the steam disapated and revealed both Charizard and Blastoise face down on the slab, both reverted to their original forms, unconcious. Both were recalled and it was all down to this last match: Ash's Pikachu against Gary's Umbreon.

Both pokemon disappeared in the blink of an eye and all anyone could see was the occasional spark from Pikachu and the aura from Umbreon's paws as they clashed at such extreme speeds that both pokemon might as well be invisible. Whenever they were visible, it was when Pikachu used a Thunderbolt or when Umbreon used Dark Pulse, usually each colliding each other and creating a small explosion. For about ten minutes this continued, each trainer become exhausted from the shouting.

Finally, both Pikachu and Umbreon stood still, both of them on their last legs.

"Hey Gary! What do you say we end this? Both of them are exhausted!" Ash called out. Gary responded with a nod and both of them commanded their pokemon one last time.

"PIkachu use Volt Tacke!"

"Umbreon show 'em your Last Resort!"

Pikachu's fur stood up on end and began to spark with electricity, then finally burst into a cloak of electricity so powerful that all that could be seen of Pikachu was a violently blurred outline, the electric cloak giving off what sounded like a bunch of birds chirping.

Umbreon's fur also stood on end and her eyes glowed fiercely red and pupiless, a violent dark aura erupting up from her paws. Just like Pikachu, Only a violently blurred outline of Umbreon could be seen within the aura, although you could also see her glowing red eyes. She looked like a phantasmal wolf ready to kill anything in her path.

Both of them just stood there, awaiting their orders from their trainers... All that could be heard was the chirping sound of Pikachu's electric cloak...

"GO NOW!" Ash and Gary shouted in unison.

Both pokemon rushed at each other, neither one of them slowing their stride and finally collided. A huge explosion of black and yellow energy rushed outward from the impact. Nothing could be seen due to all the dust kicked up by the explosion... The suspense was agonizing as everyone started to whisper and murmur their concerns. Finally, the dust cleared to reveal a destroyed slab and the two pokemon, both looking battered, eshausted and barely on their feet. Both couldn't move or else they would fall down and pass out. Eventually, however, both of them fell to the ground unconcious, resulting in a draw. The crowd, shocked, remained silent as they stared at teh two unconcious pokemon.

"Ladies and gentlemen! We have a draw!" Rick said, just a shocked as everyone else. Both trainers walked over to their respecitve pokemon, gently picked them up and held them in their arms, and walked over to the center of what remained of the slab.

"Well Gary.. I have to admit you definitely still got the moves! I bet you could be a master trainer yourself if you tried." Ash said, cradling Pikachu in one arm and holding the other out. Gary does the same with Umbreon and shakes Ash's hand.

"As tempting as that is... I'm done with the trainer life Ashey-boy... My place is here at the lab now, but maybe you could fight twice as hard for the both of us from now on!" Gary replied, winking and smiling. Then both of them raised their hands in the air together, the resulting cheer from the crowd afterward could probably even be heard in Viridian City.

Once everyone was gone and the bleachers put away, Ash and Gary took the time to visit Professor Oak's grave together.

"Well Gramps, I wonder what you would have said today if you were here with us..." Gary said, staring at the engraved stone. Ash rested his hand on Gary's shoulder.

"I think we both know the answer to that one..." Ash said with a smile and Gary nodded in agreement. Both of them left, paying their respects to the late professor and kowing in their hearts that they have once again proven to everyone that Pallet Town trainers are the ones to keep an eye out for.

**I hope you enjoyed this little Side Chapter! This was the request of a good friend of mine who wanted to see Ash and Gary have a rematch for the battle in the Johto League. **

**I am always open to requests for Side Chapters, or X Chapters as they will be called from here on out, so go ahead and PM me your ideas and I will see what I can do! Just please note that these are SIDE CHAPTERS, and must still follow the current plot. In the case of this X Chapter, it took place within Chapter Seven and explained how Gary and Ash caught up for lost time. **

**So, for example, if a character were to fall in love with another character in this series and they get together, you can't request that either one of the characters fell in love with a different character. **

**You CAN, however, request dating scenarios and the like that won't interfere with the main plot.**

**Also, you can request Flash Back X Chapters as well.**

**Finally, anyone who contributes for an X Chapter will have their names included in the making of the chapter unless they wish to remain anonymous. **


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight - A Disastrous Beginning

Luke woke up before the alarm and, to his surprise, found Sai sleeping next to him. Smiling, he gently patted his shoulder and got up slowly so he wouldn't wake him up. Slowly and quietly, he made his way out into the hallway and went to the kitchen to make something to eat when he noticed that his mom was already awake and was preparing breakfast for them.

"Mmmm... Smells great!" Luke said, practically drooling over the smell of bacon and french toast. She was so focused on cooking that when he spoke, she jumped a little in surprise before she turned around.

"Lucas Joshua Ivere! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" She exclaimed as she flipped a piece of french toast so the other side could cook. "I told you countless times not to sneak up on me!"

"Mom... It's not my fault that you never notice me walk into a room... or that you startle so easily." He replied teasingly. She just turned around with a sigh and continued to cook. Figuring that she would want to be left alone until breakfast was ready, he walked back to his room to get dressed. As soon as he opened the door, he finds yet another surprise.

Leanne must've rolled off the bed or started sleep walking at one point, but whatever the cause she was now in the same bed as Derek. The awkward part, however, was that she was hugging one of his arms like a child would their stuffed animal and one of her legs was across his. Suddenly he felt the familiar yet now less powerful chill as Sai began to communicate with him, the mental equivalant to a laugh sounding in their mental link.

_What's so funny?_ Luke asked curiously as he looked for Sai, whom he eventually found sitting on the bed staring at Derek and Leanne, Pichu sitting next to him.

_Them! She went to the bathroom shortly after you left then came back and just got in bed next to him and he didn't even flinch! That guy would sleep through a rhyhorn stampede!_

_Well, maybe we should let them sleep for now._ Luke told Sai as he started to get dressed for the day. As he began to put his jacket on, however, he heard Leanne and Derek stir in bed, and a lot of snickering from Sai over their mental link. As he turned around, he noticed that their faces were now just inches apart, Derek was the first to open his eyes. At first, his eyes just showed grogginess from just waking up, but after his thought process started to kick in, he went wide-eyed and looked up at Luke, panic in his eyes and mouthed what seemed to be, "What should I do?!" Luke could hear Sai laughing hysterically in his mind. Luke was at a loss for words as he tried his hardest to not join Sai in laughing at the ridiculous scene in front of him.

"Try to slip your arm out from her grip." Luke whispered, just loud enough to where Derek would hear him, but he wouldn't wake up Leanne. As soon as he tried to pull his arm away, however, she rolled over and was now laying on top of his arm, her arm across his chest, her body against his with her leg over his, and her hed on his shoulder. Derek began to blush violently, causing Sai to laugh harder than ever, and even Luke was starting to have a hard time trying not to laugh as Derek's face turned cherry red. For about ten minutes he laid there like that, not knowing what to do.

_You know... she IS rather pretty... maybe we shou-_

_You're too young to be thinking perverted stuff like that Sai! _Luke interrupted, checking his bag to take his mind off of the current situation. Finally, his mother called out that breakfast was ready and Luke turned around at break neck speed to see Leanne stir and Derek become redder than a charmeleon's scales. She yawned and opened her eyes. It took her a minute to realize what was going on, but ince she did, she turned just as red as Derek and squealed as she jumped out of the bed and fell backward onto the bed where Sai was, even landing on top of him.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING DEREK?!" She yelled, more shocked than angry. Standing back up and apologizing to Sai as she did so. Sai replied with an evil look.

"Why are you yelling at me?! I woke up to find you preactically on top of me!" Derek replied defensively as he got up to put away his bed.

"Then why didn't you just wake me up?!" She asked. Derek shot her a glare.

"I was still half asleep and wasn't thinking clearly." He retalliated. "But the real question is... why the hell were YOU in my bed?!"

"Oh please! Like you weren't thrilled to have a pretty girl in the same bed as you!" She snapped back.

"Bite me!" He retorted, however he soon realized his mistake as he got a slap to the face as she got her clothes and started changing.

After they all got dressed, they all went to the kitchen to eat breakfast and thank Luke's mom for letting them stay over. Once everything was cleaned up, the three of them got their bags and started to leave when Luke's mom stopped them in the yard and hugged Luke.

"Promise me you will write! The pokemon centers have a free postal service." She said. Luke could tell she was trying not to cry just from how choked up she sounded.

"I promise I will call-" he began, but she cut him off.

"No Luke, I want letters!"

"Why? Wouldn't you want to just talk on the video phone?" He asked. She just shook her head.

"I want you to send me letters so that way I can show you how much you have grown from this moment when you come back to Pallet Town. Trust me, you will grow a lot. So much, in fact, that you won't even recognize yourself." She said, teary-eyed.

"She's right, you know..." Everyone turned around to see Ash standing at the gate to the front yard. "I used to do that for my mom too. I couldn't believe how much I changed in just a year of travelling across Kanto. You're going to meet a lot of interesting people, see exciting new places, and make plenty of memories you will cherish forever. That's why I got this for the three of you." Ash said, handing Luke a camera and a box of film cartridges. "The pokemon centers can develope those for you over night and I had Gary set it up to where Pichu's electricity can charge it for you, so you will never have to worry about batteries. I figured that you could send pictures to your mom as you travel." He told them, smiling as he started to walk away. Derek walked over to him.

"Wait, the lab is the other way Dad." Derek told Ash, who stopped for a minute and looked back at him.

"I know... But I really can't stay. I got a call from the other Masters stating that there was an urgent matter that they needed me for so I need to catch the next flight to Victory Island. I'll definitely see you three again though. If not during your journey through Kanto, I will definitely see you at the Kanto League Championship, since I'm the Kanto Master. Who knows... Maybe one of you will be my challenger for my Kanto Master title." Ash replies, starting to walk away, pulling out a pokeball and releasing his Pidgeot. Once he jumped on his back, Pidgeot sped away as fast as he could toward Viridian City. Derek seemed a little upset, but he recomposed himself in no time and they were of to the Lab to get Leanne's first partner.

As they approached the lab, Sai felt uneasy. _Something doesn't feel right, Light..._

_What do you mean?_ Luke replied, stopping in the middle of the road. Derek and Leanne look back at him.

"Luke, what're you-" Leanne began, only to be cut off by Luke.

"Wait a sec." _What's wrong Sai?_ Luke asked, a serious expression on his face.

_Something bad's happened, Light... I can feel the professor's emotions... The most powerful emotion coming from him right now is agony. _Sai said seriously. Without another thought, Luke scoops up Sai and runs for the lab, urging the others to follow him. Practically bursting the door down, they enter the room to find Gary on the floor, blood runing down his left shoulder from what appeared to be a bullet hole. Blastoise was on the floor next to the big door for him to enter the lab, face down with a pool of blood forming from his now missing ear. Umbreon was also severely wounded with what appeared to be a gash from a knife, but she was still protecting Gary, her fur standing on end and her once beautiful red eyes now full of hatred and rage. Leanne, who grew up around Umbreon, was the first to approach as she kneeled down and held a hand out to her.

"Leanne be careful!" Derek said. "When an Umbreon is protecting something they cherish, they will fight to the death for it!" Leanne ignored him and continued to move closer to Umbreon, who looked like she would strike at any second. Finally, Luke fely Sai reach out for Umbreon's mind and tried to soothe her.

_What're you-_ Luke started, but then Sai cut their link, most likely so he could focus solely on trying to calm Umbreon. After about five minutes, Umbreon showed signs of settling down as her fur started to slowly lower and her eyes calmer. Once she fell to the floor, that's when everyone ran over to the professor. He was very pale and very weak. The first thing that Derek did was call the police while Luke and Leanne patched up Gary and his pokemon as best they could. Umbreon and Gary seemed to be okay, however... Blastoise was in bad shape. Although he wasn't shot directly, the amount of blood he lost put him dangerously close to a coma. Luke asked Sai to try and help Blastoise stay with them by mentally communicating with him, however he refused, saying that the contact might cause him to enter a state of shock. Once the paramedics and the police came, they immediately tended to Blastoise at Gary's request. After about an hour, the pokemon were taken to the pokemon center and Gary to the hospital.

At the professor's request, the kids, Sai and Pichu all waited in the hospital's lobby so he could talk to them. They spent most of the time playing card games while they waited to take their minds off of what just happened. However, Luke and Sai couldn't focus entirely on the game...

_Who would attack the professor?! _Luke asked, more himself than Sai.

_I don't know... but it was obvious that whoever they were wanted Gary out of the picture..._ Sai replied, a grim tone to his voice. Luke considered the situation for a minute, then replied, _No if they wanted him 'out of the picture' they would've aimed at a vital spot, not his shoulder. They were just trying to make sure he would stay out of their way..._

_Maybe you're right. But we'll find out shortly..._

_Why's that?_

_Because he just sent for the nurse to come and get you three._ Sure enough, a nurse entered the room to bring them to Gary. Once in Gary's hospital room, he had them sit down and started to explain what had happened.

"As you can see... I was attacked... But who the attacker was, I have no idea since he was wearing a mask. He did give me a bit of information that really bothers me, however... He claimed, as he stole the pokemon the three of you were supposed to choose from, that he needed new recruits... This tells me that there may very well be a new terrorist organization forming... Also Luke, I want you to be on guard!" He said, a grim look on his face as he stared at Luke.

"Why, Professor?"

"Because he knew about Sai... and was VERY interested in him. It might have something to do with why Sai looks the way he does..." Gary spoke each word with a dark, grim tone, which only seemed even more grim due to his pale skin.

"I would never let anything happen to Sai! I promise!" Luke said, staring at Sai and smiling as he did so.

"Good. Now then, I know that you three will want to start your journeys as soon as possible... so I managed to get the officers to bring your pokedexes." He said, pointing at the table next to him. Rose and Leanne each took their respective pokedexes with the designs they requested, and Derek took the plain red pokedex. When he was questioned about why he didn't choose a design, he just said that he wasn't interested in a design so he got a plain one. Once each of them had their pokedex, Gary handed a single pokeball to Leanne.

"It's Umbreon's daughter. You always made sure to take good care of her when she hatched from the egg, so I am giving her to you. Raise her well Leanne." Gary said, smiling at his daughter's reaction, who did a little spin and released the eevee and caught her in her arms.

"Thank you so much Daddy!" She exclaimed as she went and kissed her dad on the cheek, then started playing with eevee by rubbing their noses together.

"Now then, I want the three of you to go ahead and begin your journeys." At his request the kids began to protest, but he stopped them with a raise of his good hand. "Don't worry about me. I'll be okay. I had Ash put in the good word for me and you two don't have to wait overnight for your information to be registered. Also, the pokedexes were already activated this morning. You shoud be good to go." Gary told them, exhaustion present in his face and voice. figuring that it was time to let the professor rest, they all said their goodbyes and left the hospital.

Neither of them said a word as they walked to the edge of town where Route One began. All three of them took one last look at Pallet Town, figuring that it would be a long time before they saw it again, then they all walked together and took their first steps toward their journeys.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine - Goals

Despite the depressing start to their journeys, Lucas couldn't help but smile at least a little. He was finally going to live his dream of travelling with his new friends and his pokemon. As Lucas looked at Leanne and Derek, he couldn't help but notice that they must have been feeling the same thing judging from the smiles on their faces. Of course they were worried about the professor, however they all knew that he wouldn't have wanted them to wait in town because of him.

As they walked along Route One, they took in the sights of all the pidgey and rattata that flew and scurried about. Some were playing, some gathering food, and some even fighting over a spot near an oak tree. It was when they saw a random pidgey land right in front of them when the three of them remembered something important.

"Oh no, guys! We don't have any pokeballs!" Leanne stated. It was true, considering that they didn't get their pokeballs from Gary due to the circumstances. "We're gonna have to stop at the pokemon mart in Viridian City if we are going to catch any pokemon!" As she spoke, she pulled out her wallet and started counting her money. "I have about five hundred and fifty dollars saved up... how about you two?"

The boys took out their wallets and started counting. Derek had two thousand exactly, stating that his dad gave it to him as a gift. When Lucas looked in his wallet, however, he couldn't help but stare in shock. Sai, who was rather curious at the sudden change in emotion, decided to speak up.

_What's wrong, Light? Don't tell me you left your money in your dresser again!_

_No... No I have money... But that's the thing! I shouldn't have THIS much! _Luke replied, still staring into his wallet. Noticing his behavior, Leanne and Derek both walk over to him. Leanne was the first to speak.

"Everything okay?" she asked, sneaking a peak into his wallet only to have her jaw drop and pull Derek over to her where he could see as well, causing a similar effect to him.

"Geez Luke! You could've told us you were loaded! There must be like fifteen grand in your wallet!" Derek exclaimed, still staring into his wallet. Luke just looked at him slightly annoyed yet still shocked.

"I shouldn't even HAVE that much in there! I only put about a thousand in there to start with!" Luke said, suddenly turning to Sai. "You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with this... would you?!" Sai shook his head and spoke over their mental link.

_No! I swear I didn't do anything! Honest! Although I do remember your mom messing with your wallet last night while you were all sleeping..._ Sai said defensively. Thanks to the link between them, he could tell that Sai was being honest. Suddenly, Leanne reaches over to Luke's wallet, who instictively shuts it and pulls it away from her.

"What're you doing?!" Luke asked harshly. Leanne suddenly put her hands up and stared at him.

"Sorry! I just noticed a piece of paper in between a couple of the bills..." She replied.

"Well, you could've just told me first..." He said, opening his wallet to pull out the piece of folded paper Leanne was talking about. As he unfolded it, he realized it was a letter from his mom:

_To my little rising star,_

_ I've been saving this up for your journey for quite some time now. I hope it will come in handy. I think your best bet would be to go to a pokemon center and get a travel card account with it. Keep about one thousand five hindred on you personally in case you go somewhere that only takes cash. They will give you all the information you need when you apply for one. Tell Derek and Leanne that they should open one up too. _

_ Love Mom_

_P.S. I baked some cookies and put them in your bag for you three to snack on. Enjoy!_

He continued to stare at the letter for about another three minutes before folding it back up neatly and putting it in his pocket. Once he put his wallet back, he told them what his mother did for him. They were both smiling when he finished.

"You have a really cool mom, you know that?!" Leanne said, still smiling.

"Yeah I do! But fifteen thousand! Geez that would hold me over for a while!" Luke replied, still looking at his wallet, which was bulging from all the money inside of it. Suddenly, he thought of a pretty cool idea. "Hey you guys! What if we all took my mom's advice, only we got a shared account?!" They both gave him a pzzled look.

"What do you mean, Luke?" Leanne asked.

"Why not pool all of our money together into one account and get three cards that link to it?!" Luke suggested. Leanne seemed to be okay with it, however Derek seemed a little hesitant. "I mean, it's not like we're gonna split up or anything, right? Besides, it's easier to keep track of one large amount rather than three different amounts." With that, Derek seems to accept the idea and hands Lucas the money. Leanne quickly follows suit.

As they continued to walk down Route One, they begin to talk about their dreams. Luke was the first to answer.

"Well call it cliche if you want, but I want to be a Master Trainer like Ash! That's always been my dream since I was little!" Luke exclaimed, throwing a fist in the air. Leanne giggled a little and ran ahead of them, doing a little twirl.

"I want to become a Coordinator and travel to Hoenn to compete in the Grand Festival!" She then explained how coordinators train their pokemon in their own type of battle, where there's a time limit and they have to attack not with power, but with style. The more unique the combination, the more points they earn. She even explained that some pokemon even won a match when they were knocked out, because they earned more points than their opponent did. It's all about how well the pokemon executes their moves and how stylish they look during the execution.

Finally, it was Derek's turn. "My goal... well really I haven't thought about it..." He told them, looking up at the sky as if the answer will drop down to him.

"Aww come on Derek! There must be SOMETHING!" Luke tells him, patting him on the back.

"Well... I guess, if anything, it's just to travel with my friends and experience many different things. I mean yeah, I want to earn my gym badges and maybe enter a contest or two... But as far as goals go, I believe I have already achieved that by just travelling with you two!" He said, smiling at them.

By the time the sun had started to set, they had reached Viridian City. Figuring that they would leave the sight-seeing until tomorrow, all three of them headed for the pokemon center to get a room and set up their travel card account. Once Luke told the banker about his request, he gave him a quizzical look, but still gave him all three cards. Once that was in order, they went to the main counter and rented a room for the night. Once they got to their room, Luke gave each of them one card and a thousand dollars.

"It's a little less than what Mom said... but she said that we should keep cash on us at all times. Oh and the account has fourteen thousand five hundred and fifty dollars in it." Luke told them as he grabbed his bed clothes and walked into the bathroom to get dressed. Once he was done, he noticed that Derek was cherry red again and Leanne was already changed into a night gown for bed. Sai was sitting on his and Luke's bed laughing so hard that he was rolling around and could hardly breathe.

Finally, they all settled into bed. Derek read a book for a little bit and Luke decided to break out a sketch book and pencil. Leanne was already asleep and cuddled next to her was Eevee and Pichu. Derek kept looking over from time to time.

"Can you believe him?!" Derek said, smiling and pointing over at Pichu. "He's such a little traitor!" Luke couldn't help but laugh a little. Sai, who was asleep next to him, curled up and sighed a little. Finally giving in, he puts the sketchbook on his nightstand and puts his arm around Sai and falls asleep.


	11. Chapter 10

**I apologize for the delay everyone. I recently started another fan fiction, Mega Man Dream Shift, and I sort of got sucked into the story's plot. It won't happen again I swear! :)**

**Also, 1,205 Views already?! You guys are awesome! I hope you all continue to read and support Glistening Souls as Lucas takes you through all six regions!**

Chapter Ten - Surprise Visitor

Lucas wakes up to a rustling sound coming from the other side of the room where everyone's bags were. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looks over to find Sai rummaging through his bag head first, his tail and one leg was all you could see. Lucas couldn't help but laugh to himself.

_What're you looking for?_ Lucas asks him, who suddenly falls into the bag and pokes his head up with a sock on his head, making Lucas have to stifle a laugh so he didn't wake the others.

_Nothing..._ he replied, looking away. _Just looking..._

_You know... there's this thing called 'permission' that many people need to ask for before they go into someone's personal stuff..._ Lucas said teasingly as he got out of bed and walked over to Sai, picking him up.

_I know... but I didn't want to wake you up._ Sai replied. Lucas could feel that something was bothering Sai, due to their mental link, however he couldn't figure out what was wrong. Finally, he heard a slight growling sound from Sai's stomach, causing him to look away from Lucas, his cheeks slightly flushed.

_If you were hungry, you should've woken me up. Let me get dressed and I'll get us breakfast._ Lucas replied, throwing on a pair of jeans, t-shirt, and his usual black jacket. Once he was ready, he grabbed his wallet and they both walked out of the room towards the front desk, where Lucas asked where the cafeteria was.

"It's at the end of this hallway over here. Today's special is ham and scrambled eggs." The nurse told him sweetly, pointing at the hallway to the left of the desk. After thanking her, the both of them got their breakfast and sat down at one of the tables. Lucas got the special while Sai, being smaller, only asked for some of the eggs from Lucas' plate. About three minutes later Derek and Leanne, accompanied by their pokemon, and sat down next to Lucas and Sai. Leanne was still in her pajamas while Derek was fully dressed and ready for the day.

"Sleep good you two?" Lucas asked, cutting a piece of ham and giving it to Sai.

"No complaints here." They both said in unison, each of them grabbing their forks and starting to portion out a bit of their breakfast for their pokemon like Lucas did with Sai.

"So what's the plan for today? We gonna just head on to Pewter City from here or are we gonna stick around for a bit?" Lucas asked as he finished his plate. Leanne stared at him in wonder.

"You ate all of that already?!" Leanne asked, perplexed. Lucas just laughed.

"Hey, I can't help it if you eat too slow!" Lucas said defensively. Leanne just shook her head at him.

"You were only here a few minutes and you ate the whole plate!"

"Oh my god! I ate all my food before you did! Big deal!"

"Just saying maybe you should actually take the time to TASTE your food instead of inhaling it!" Derek banged his fist on the table and both of them shut up at once, staring at him.

"Will you both shut the hell up?! It's too early in the morning for this nonsense..." Derek scolded, returning to his breakfast. For about ten minutes, all three of them sat there quietly. Even Sai didn't talk. It wasn't until someone yelled over to them that things started to get interesting.

"Light! I was wondering where you were. Glad I stopped here first!" Said a girl's voice from behind Luke. As soon as he turned around in his chair, all he could feel was joy and excitement as he stared at a girl with long brown hair and blue eyes.

"Rose?!" Lucas exclaimed, bolting out of his chair and running over to her. "How've you been?! Why are you in Viridian City?!"

"I've been good! As for why I'm here, I called the professor and heard what happened. I was on my way to go see him." Rose replied, suddenly looking grim. "He's not doing so well right now..." This bit of news seemed to shock everyone.

"But we just left yesterday! The doctors said he would make a full recovery!" Lucas shouted, getting ready to get his stuff and head back to Pallet Town. Rose shook her head and tears started welling up in her eyes and shocked him as she flung her arms around him and started to cry.

"No, h-he's fine... It's Blastoise! H-He's... He d-didn't make it!" Rose cried. Luke returned the embrace and comforted her while Derek stared wide-eyed at Rose and Leanne started crying into her arms on the table. Luke could even feel the sadness from Sai, who barely knew Gary or Blastoise, at the news.

They all walked back to their room with Rose and she explained it all to them. Blastoise was in critical condition when he was taken to the ER. However nobody knew that it wasn't just his ear that was shot... He was also shot in the neck... He was simply too old and lost too much blood to hang on.

"That's awful! Poor Gary..." Derek said, rubbing Leanne's back trying to soothe her. Of all four of them she was taking it the hardest and rightfully so, considering she grew up around Blastoise.

"Yeah... Talk about harsh..." Luke said, sitting next to Rose on his bed while Sai sat in Rose's lap. Suddenly, he started grabbing his bag, a look of determination on his face, and walked for the door when Rose called out to him.

"Luke, Gary told me that he didn't want you three to come back... not because of Blastoise." Luke just turned around, looking hurt at the statement. "He told me that you three already had a rough start to your journey, he didn't want you to come back to more unpleasent memories of your first days as trainers... Instead, he wants you three to be strong and continue on your journey."

With that statement, all of them went silent out of respect for Blastoise and the mourning professor. Luke hated that he couldn't do anything to help Gary.

_Luke! Listen to Rose and stay strong._ Sai said suddenly. Luke didn't respond. _The professor would want you to keep moving forward. If you want to do anything for him, do that and let's head for Pewter City!_

With that, Luke opened the door, and looked back at all of them.

"Well, let's get going! I heard that Route Twenty Two has some good pokemon for beginning trainers!" With that, everyone follows him to the pokemon mart, where they buy five pokeballs each, along with some potions, antidotes, and paralyze heals. When Rose questioned them on how they were able to afford all of this, Luke explained that they all pooled their money together.

As they walked outside, Rose tossed a pokeball into the air and out came an Ivysaur.

"Whoa! That didn't take long, huh?" Luke asked excitedly. Rose just giggled.

"Actually, she just evolved a few days ago." She replied, smiling as Ivysaur rustled the leaves on its back.

"So how've you been Rose? I mean, it's been three months now." Luke asked.

"Well, so far I've been to Vermillion City, but I only have two badges. Roy Surge was too strong for me and Ivysaur here, sadly. We got the call from the professor while we were training with Johnny.

"How did you get here so fast?! The train doesn't run through Vermillion City!" Derek asked her.

"Diglett's Cave. They turned it into a subway since it was abandoned and it was the cheapest and closest means of travel from Vermillion City to here." Rose replied, pulling out her Diglett's Cave Subway ticket.

"Speaking of Johnny, where is he?" Luke asked.

"He didn't stay here. I was tired from all the training, which is why I stayed the night here, and he went on ahead alone. As for Blaze..." She continued, knowing that he would ask eventually. "neither me or Johnny has heard from him in a while. Although, the last time we talked to him a month and a half ago, he already had five gym badges!"

"What?! Are you serious?!" Leanne exclaimed. That was no easy feat, considering how it normally takes someone about six months to even get that many badges... Whatever Blaze was doing, it was working.

Once they reached Route Twenty Two, all of them split up and started looking for pokemon to capture, all of them agreeing that they would meet up in an hour. Twice Luke failed to catch a spearow that was constantly annoying Sai, which made Rose laugh. She told him that the three pokemon normally spotted in the area were Spearow, Rattata, and-

"A Mankey!" Luke shouted, readying a pokeball. Sai readied himself for battle.

_You ready, Sai?_ Luke asked, a pokeball ready in his hand.

_Do you even need to ask?_ Sai replied as he ran at the mankey.

"Use Teleport, then follow up with Hidden Power!" Luke commanded, watching Sai as he disappeared, taking Mankey by surprise. Once Sai reappeared behind Mankey, he fired a wave of energy at it, sending it flying. Mankey was slow to get up, but showed that it still had some fight in it by Leering at Sai, then following up with a speedy Scratch attack, which Sai barely dodged using Teleport. Once again, he reappeared behind Mankey and fired anothe Hidden Power, knocking it to the ground again. Only this time it was having a hard time even getting to its knees.

"Now's my chance! Pokeball GO!" Luke shouted, throwing the pokeball at Mankey. Once it was inside the ball, it began shaking as if it were trying to fight its way out. However, after about a minute of this, it finally stopped. Sai grabbed the pokeball up and brought it to Sai, who jsut stared at it.

_We did it Sai! Our first capture!_ Luke told Sai, who replied with an emotional wave of excitement and joy. Rose congratulated him and gave him a thumbs up and a wink. once the hour was up, Luke finds out that Derek caught a Rattata while Leanne couldn't catch anything, the diappointment written all over her face. Rose walks up to her.

"Hey, it's okay. You'll have better luck next time. Besides, Viridian Forest has PLENTY of pokemon to catch." She told her as they all walked back into town for lunch. While they ate, Leanne and Luke started arguing again over how he practically inhales his food, making Derek roll his eyes and sigh while Rose just laughed as she watched the two of them argue.

"It seems like you got your hands full, Derek." Rose told him, still laughing. He just rolled his eyes again as he gave Pichu a french fry.

"They're gonna make me go insane... but at least things will be interesting, right?" He replied, smiling slightly as he watched Pichu nibble the fry.

"So you're Ash Ketchum's son, huh?" Rose asked. "I take it that Pichu is the son of his Pikachu then?"

"Daughter actually. Pichu's a girl." Derek replied, handing Pichu another french fry. "She's my best friend... and to be honest, my only friend..." Derek admitted, biting into his hamburger. Rose looked sad when she heard him say that, but she just smiled turned his head towards Luke and Leanne, who were now laughing as Sai and Eevee began to play with Ivysaur.

You wee those two over there? I don't know Leanne all too well, but Luke's been my best friend since we were little. Believe me when I tell you that you two will become great friends in no time at all. Heck I'll even bet that you will be best friends before you leave Pewter City!" She told him, smiling as she got up, grabbing a french fry from Derek's plate.

"Hey!" Derek said, but started to laugh when she threw it at Luke's head, causing him to turn around and throw one back at her.

"Luke, I'm going to head on out. I'll see you around, okay?"

"Okay, cool. It was nice seeing you again, Rose! Next time we meet, though... I want a battle!" He said with a smirk. She gave him the same look as she began to walk away, calling out to Ivysaur who followed her shortly after.

Once it started getting dark, they head back to the pokemon center and stay one more night, each of them agreeing that they officially start their journey in the morning.


	12. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the delay once again... This time I had a bad case of writer's block. Finally got over it and now I will be back in full force! **

Chapter Eleven - Viridian Forest

It's been two days since Luke, Leanne and Derek left Viridian City and were currently asleep in a clearing where they set up camp in Viridian Forest, also referred to as the Forest of Beginnings. As usual, Luke was the first to wake up as he gave a big yawn and looked around for Sai, who would normally be found getting himself into trouble at this time. Surprisingly enough, he found Sai sleeping against a tree with Pichu and Eevee cuddled up close to him. He couldn't help but smile as he slid out from his sleeping bag and grabbed his backpack to get a new shirt. Once he was dressed, he grabbed a breakfast bar from his bag and munched on it to hold him over until Derek, who proved to be a rather decent cook, woke up and started cooking.

As he ate he continued to walk around, taking care to not stray too far from the camp. Suddenly, he realized that he didn't really get a chance to bond with his newly caught Mankey yet, so he grabbed the pokeball off his belt and threw it in the air to release Mankey, who gave him a rather angry stare.

"Sorry I haven't gotten the chance to let you out yet. The name's Luke!" Luke told Mankey, holding out his hand for Mankey to inspect. His expression unchanged, he walked over to Luke's hand and sniffed it. After about five minutes he places one of his hands into Luke's, indicating that he trusted him. "Well then, let's see what you're made of! I'll be counting on you for the battle in Pewter City, since it's a rock-type gym." Luke informed Mankey, giving him a thumbs up. Mankey continued to give him that angry stare.

Suddenly, a Pidgey flies into view and starts attacking Mankey, who retalliated by swiping at it furiously but was having a hard time actually landing a hit. Luke looked around to see how he could help Mankey, two trees with branches intersecting each other catching his attention.

"Mankey! Jump into those trees over there and use the branches and you will be able to reach it!" Luke commanded, pointing towards the plant. Mankey, taking Luke's advice, ran over to the trees and jumped into them and began leaping from branch to branch in an attempt to get closer to Pidgey, eventually landing a Scratch attack it and sending ot the the ground unconcious. As soon as Luke pulled out a pokeball, however, another pokeball came out of nowhere and hit Pidgey, who went into the ball. Once it hit the ground, the button started flashing red and was wiggling as if the Pidgey was trying to resist capture. Finally, the button turned solid white and a boy with green hair walked into view and picked up the pokeball. Luke, who was infuriated, stormed over to the other trainer.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing, dude?! You can't do that!" he shouted. The green-haired boy just laughed.

"Why not? I didn't see your name on it, kid. A wild pokemon is fair game to anyone with a pokeball." the boy replied, smirking as he held the pokeball with Pidgey in front of him.

"True, but I was the one who fought it! I'm the one who knocked it out! That means I earned the chance to catch it!" Luke explained, returning Mankey to his pokeball. In the back of his mind he could feel Sai, who was now awake, expressing his concern through their mental link.

"Look kid... There are no rules against it... What's the big deal?!" The boy stated.

"You know what?! Do what you want! But I guarantee that all of your pokemon will never respect you!" With that, Luke started to head back to camp when the boy spoke up again.

"Respect?! Please! Pokemon are merely pawns used to protect the king! The king issues the orders and the pawns obey, all to put their opponent into checkmate. The king has no need for the respect of the pawns." Disgusted, Luke turned around and punched the boy square in the jaw, causing him to stagger back a couple steps before Luke jumped on top of him and drew back his fist for another punch. Suddenly, he felt something grab his shirt and it was as if he was being sucked into a tiny tube as everything went dark, then the light returned to the world as he found himself staring at the boy a good distance away from him. When he looked down to his side he saw Sai grabbing his shirt, staring at the boy.

"Sai, what're you-" Luke began, but was interrupted with a sharp pain from his temple as the boy started attacking him. As he was pinned to the ground, he felt the equivalent of an intense burn surge through his mind. Suddenly the boy's weight disappeared as Sai Teleported him away from Luke then Teleported himself back in between the two trainers. Luke could feel Sai's mind reaching out to the boy. Once the temporary mental link was established, Luke could feel what the boy was feeling: anger, pride and, surprisingly enough, _sadness!_

_You can hear me, correct?_ Sai asked, still staring directly at the boy.

_Yeah I can hear- _Luke began, but Sai cut him off.

_Not you, Light!_ Sai interrupted, still staring at the boy, who was looking around searching for the owner of the voice.

"Who said that?! Where are you?!" The boy demanded, still searching for the voice's owner.

_Who else is here other than us?! Are you really that dense?!_ Sai replied. Suddenly the boy looked into Luke's gaze, who shook his head and looked down at Sai. Eyes widened with disbelief, the boy slowly looked down at Sai. _You catch on quick._

"What the hell?!" The boy exclaimed, his gaze now locked on Sai. "How are you talking to me?! Pokemon can't talk!"

_Well you are partially correct. I am not exactly speaking to you, but I have the power to communicate with the minds of others._ Sai explained. _With this means of communication, one is unable to lie._ Luke could feel the boy's anger being replaced with confusion.

"So wait... You can read my mind?"

_No, it's not a method of mind reading, per say. It is more along the lines of telepathy. I can communicate with you and sense your emotions, however I cannot predict your actions or look into your past._ Sai began to walk towards the boy. _Now then, since neither of us can lie... You will believe what I am about to tell you..._ Luke could now feel all of the boy's emotions become replaced with fear.

"What would that be?!" The boy demanded, trying to act against his fear. However as Sai approached him he couldn't help but feel threatened, even if he only reached slightly below the waist.

_If you EVER harm my trainer again, then I promise you the next time I use this attack, it will be ten times worse!_ Sai threatened, attacking the boy with Hidden Power and sending him crashing into a tree. The boy slowly got up and, once he got to his feet, started to walk away with a slight limp. Turning to Luke, whose face was starting to swell from the boy's punches, Sai walked over and sat in his lap. _Are you okay, Luke?_

_Sai... you shoudn't have attacked him like that... even if he did deserve it..._ Luke replied, patting Sai on the head. _But yeah, I'm fine. Thank you._ Sai looked up at him and smiled.

_Well, you are the closest thing I have to a father. You raised me, fed me, kept me safe, and kept me out of trou-_

_STILL keep you out of trouble!_ Luke corrected, laughing slightly.

_Yeah, yeah... _Sai responded, rolling his eyes as he looked away. _But anyway, considering what I just said, why _wouldn't_ I try to protect you?! _

_I know... but next time, promise me you won't attack them unless they continue to attack me, you or any of our friends, okay?_

_Promise._ As they both got up to head back to camp, they heard footsteps approaching them. About a few seconds later, the footsteps turned out to be from Leanne and Derek, who were looking for them. As soon as they got back to camp, Derek started cooking some eggs and bacon in a pan over the fire while Leanne insisted on doctoring Luke although he has asked her several times to let him rest.

"But if we don't treat it, you could lose the sight in your eye!" Leanne argued, trying to put an ice pack wrapped in a cloth on Lukes now swollen shut eye.

"I won't lose sight in it, damn it!" Luke replied in frustration, snatching the ice pack from her impatiently. "There, see?! I'm using it! Now please let me rest! I have a killer headache..."

"Luke, I have some asprin in the first aid kit in my bag if you think that could help at all." Derek shouted over his shoulder as he fluffed up the eggs with a spatula. "And are you sure you don't want any breakfast?"

"Positive. My headache is so bad that it's making me feel sick. I don't think I could hold anything down right now.. and yeah, I would appreciate the asprin." As Luke tried to get up to grab the first aid kit from Derek's bag Leanne insisted that she would get it for him, which he allowed her to do to avoid arguing further with her. As he got in the sleeping bag, Leanne gave him the asprin and a bottle of water. Once he took the medicine, he couldn't help but become enticed by the smell of bacon.

"Hey Derek... I think I'll chance a piece or two of bacon, if that's okay..."

"Sure, no problem." Derek said enthusiastically as he grabbed two more strips of bacon from the cooler and placed it into the pan. Once he ate his bacon, the medicine started to take effect and the pain was fading. Although they protested to his wishes for a nap due to a possble concusion, he convinced them that it looked worse than it felt and to wake him when it was time to clean up camp.

When they woke him up, he had noticed that everything but his sleeping bag was packed up and ready to go.

"Guys, I told you I would help you out!" Luke pouted, making Leanne roll her eyes and Derek laugh a little.

"Well, we figured that we would let you rest a little longer." Derek told him. "Anyway, how're you feeling."

"It doesn't hurt... but it's wierd not being able to open my eye..." Luke informed them, rolling up his sleeping bag and buckling it to the bottom of his backpack. "Anyway, shall we get going? We still have two days before we get to Pewter City." With the mention of Pewter City, Leanne looked at Luke with concern.

"Luke... Have you even been training? I mean, just because Brock isn't the gym leader anymore doesn't mean that the new one is a pushover..." She warned, getting the usual eye roll response from Luke.

"Well I WAS trying to train Mankey when we were attacked by a pidgey... then when we tried to capture it, this green-haired jerk off decided to steal my capture!" Luke ranted.

"Wait... Green hair and stole your capture... he didn't happen to have purple eyes, did he?" Derek asked, making Luke go deep in thought. To be honest, he didn't really pay much attention to what the kid looked like... It was when Sai sent him a mental picture of the kid when he was able to describe him better. With the description, Derek nodded his head. "Just as I thought..."

"What's up, Derek? You know him?" Leanne asked curiouslyas she gave a treat to her eevee.

"Unfortunately... His name is Zane Strider, Grandson of Johto's Pokemon League Champion, Lance Strider." Derek explained. "I met him a couple of times and there's no denying the little bastard is a royal douche... Although he is pretty cocky, he is also a coward when it comes to psychic pokemon, considering he had a bad run-in with a gardevoir and gallade..."

_So THAT'S why he was so scared when I got there... _Sai told Luke, who nodded.

"Anyway, your best bet is to just stay away from him, Luke. He's not only a pain in the neck... but he's always had a gift for getting into trouble." Derek warned as they continued down the path. For about an hour, they just continued walking, running into a caterpie or weedle here and there. In fact, Leanne managed to catch herself a weedle and a golden caterpie herself, taking extra pride in the caterpie.

As the sun started to set, they all found another clearing and set up camp, Derek cooking while Luke followed Leanne to a pond she found so he could be a lookout for her while she bathed. Although she was comfortable with dressing around the two of them, she still didn't want anyone to see her naked for obvious reasons. As he kept watch, he noticed something moving in the bushes. Curiosity gripping him, he slowly walks over to the bushes. Carefully, he looks over the bush to find something that he would never forget in his life: a pink cat-like pokemon with a long tail and bright green eyes.

_SAI! Get over here as quieltly as you can!_ Luke urged with his mind to Sai, who was apparently sleeping as he gave the mental equivalent to a yawn.

_What's wrong?_

_Look at what I'm looking at!_ Luke commanded, allowing Sai to see through his eyes. His excitement overflowed through the link.

_Is that-_

_Yeah it is! It's a Mew!_


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve - Family

"I'm telling you! It was a mew! What else could it be?!" Luke argued as he swiped the card key to their room at the Pokemon Center in Pewter City. Derek just shook his head silently and walked into the room to get his bed situated while Leanne just rolled her eyes at Luke as she tossed her bag onto the bed closest to the door.

"I still say it was your mind playing tricks on you from the beating you took yesterday!" Leanne lashed out as she dug through her bag and started pulling out the dirty clothes and placed them into the laundry bin beside her bed. "Mew is a _legendary _pokemon! It's so rare that hardly anyone has ever seen one!"

"I understand that, but there's no mistaking it! It _had_ to be a mew! There's no question about it!" Luke retaliated as he pulled out Sai's celestial ball off his necklace and let him out. Giving Luke an evil look, he jumped onto the bed and started to pout.

_You know I hate that damned thing, Light!_

_Well, if you didn't decide to be a perv and sneak up on Leanne while she was washing herself in the pond, I wouldn't have done it!_

_I-I was trying to find that Mew!_ Sai stated defensively, blushing slightly.

_Yeah, okay... and I'm Arceus in human form... Next time it will be two days! _Luke threatened, causing Sai to turn his back to him. Rolling his eyes, he turned back to Leanne, who was still going on about him finding a mew.

"-and another thing! If there really _was_ a mew there, how come you don't have the basic data in your pokedex on it?! I know you had it on you considering that thing never leaves your pocket!" Leanne questioned.

"Oh yeah, like that was my first reaction when I see one of the rarest pokemon in the wo-"

"It SHOULD have been! That would be all the proof you would need to convince anyone that you saw one!"

"I'm sorry I was too excited to think straight!" Soon they were arguing to the point where they didn't care if they heard each other or not. Eventually Derek, who was trying to read a book, had enough and threw a pillow at each of them. Both of them gave an evil glare at him, but soon became timid once they saw how angry he was.

"SHUT HELL UP! ALL YOU TWO EVER DO IS ARGUE!" Derek shouted, now walking toward the two of them. "Every day is the same damn thing with you two! You wake up, you argue at breakfast, you argue while we walk, you argue at lunch, you argued over who was going to catch that golden caterpie, you argued during dinner AND YOU EVEN ARGUED ABOUT WHERE YOU WERE GOING TO SET UP YOUR SLEEPING BAGS! I've had enough! Ever since we left Pallet Town this was all you two have done!" Both of them looked at Derek silently.

It was true that they did argue a lot. To be honest, Luke didn't even know why they argued in the first place. Maybe it was the fact that they weren't used to sleeping outside, the fact that they had little to no privacy, or even the fact that the life of a trainer wasn't as luxurious as living at home where they didn't have to worry about supplies or having clean clothing or even a full course meal. Sure Derek was a good cook, but he only made simple meals that would hold them over until the next meal in an effort to save money and so that everything would fit in the rechargeable battery-operated cooler that they bought in Viridian City. Suddenly, Derek snatched one to the card keys out of Luke's hand.

"I'll be back in a bit! Take this time to find a way to reach some sort of understanding because if you don't, I'm going to withdraw my money from our account, get my own, and travel on my own!" Derek told them bitterly, storming out of the room with Pichu running as fast as her small limbs would allow so she could keep up with her trainer. Both Leanne and Luke walked out the door and watched as Derek walked past the other trainers who obviously heard the argument and were watching them curiously. As soon as Derek couldn't be seen anymore, Luke and Leanne took turns taking a shower, Luke insisting on going last. As he got out of the shower, she saw her laying on her bed in just a t-shirt and underwear reading a book. Having gotten used to her being half naked around him at night this didn't shock him quite as much, but he still couldn't help but blush at the sight.

Walking over to his bed, he slipped his underwear on while still wearing the towel around his waist. As he grabbed for his shorts he hesitated, then grabbed his bag and pulled out a clean pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. Sai, who was sitting on the windowsill, watched him curiously as he got dressed. Leanne, noticing the sound of zippers, also looked over at him as he pulled on his t-shirt and grabbed his wallet.

"Wanna go grab a bite to eat?" Luke asked Leanne, who just looked at him. "My mom told me that there was a pretty good pizza place down the road from here." For a minute, Leanne seemed to think on his offer. Finally, she got up and grabbed one of her clean skirts from her bag and put in on. As they walked out the door, Luke noticed Sai and Eevee trying to follow them. "Sorry guys... Just the trainers tonight." As he closed the door, Eevee gave off a sad little "Mree" and Sai looked heartbroken. Both pokemon have never been away from their trainers. He felt Sai's sadness through their mental link, but he reassured him that they would only be gone for about an hour or two.

"Poor Eevee... I hope she'll be okay..." Leanne said, looking back at the door as they walked down the hall.

"I know how you feel... I never left Sai behind before... but they need to get used to it. There's going to be times where we will be away from each other, like if they are being treated. They will be held overnight in the hospital wing recovering and the trainers aren't allowed back there... They'll be okay." Luke told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Surprisingly, she didn't brush him away in anger.

As they walked down the road, they took in the sights of Pewter City, such as the brick buildings and the cobblestone sidewalks. Everything seemed to be made of some sort of stone, even the streetlights had a lantern-shaped boulder on top with a square hole on each of its four sides to allow the light from the lightbulb inside of it to shine onto the street.

"So it's not the gym that gives Pewter City its nickname of The City of Stone... the city itself seems to be made entirely of stone!" Leanne exclaimed in awe as she kept turning her head left and right trying to take in all of their surroundings at once. Before Luke knew it, he found himself smiling at her. After about ten minutes, they arrive at a building with a sign displaying a geodude tossing a pizza into the air with the words "The Cornerstone Pizzeria" below it in neon lights. As they walked in, Luke's mouth started to water instantly as he smelled the fresh spices and cheese of the pizzeria. As they sat at the counter together, one of the waitresses walked over to them.

"How are you two doing tonight?" She asked enthusiastically. "My name is Nikki and I will be your waitress for the evening! Can I start you off with something to drink?" She asked, pulling out a pen and notepad.

"I just want some lemonade if you got it." Leanne told Nikki, who wrote her request on the pad.

"I'll have a Mr. Fizz, and can I get a lemon wedge with that?" Luke asked as he watched Nikki write on her pad again.

"Not a problem! I'll be back in a sec!" She replied, walking to the other end of the bar, prepared their drinks, and brought them over to them. "Here you go, and would you like to try one of our signature six-inch Cornerstone personal pizzas?"

Actually, yeah I will. Thanks." Leanne replied as Nikki began writing again. Luke, who was looking at the menu while Leanne ordered, put the menu down as he decided.

"I want a slice of cheese pizza and one of your cheesesteak wraps. Can I get that without onions, please? My stomach can't really handle onions all that well." Luke requested as Nikki wrote down his order.

"Of course. Your orders should be ready in about twenty minutes. Would you like anything to snack on until then?" Nikki offered. Both Leanne and Luke looked at the menu and both decided to split an order of mozerella sticks. As Nikki walked away, Leanne looked at Luke curiously.

"So... Why the sudden invite? I thought you were still mad at me for not believing you." Leanne told him.

"It's not that I was mad at you... I was just disappointed that you wouldn't believe me." Luke admitted. "The only reason I got mad was because you started yelling at me..." Leanne turned her head forward and looked down at the counter.

"I'm sorry..." She said, shocking Luke. He wasn't expecting an apology so soon, considering how stubborn she was. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I've just been so worried with dad being in the hospital, then the news that Blastoise died... it was just too much at once." Luke suddenly felt uncomfortable as Leanne started to shed silent tears with her body trembling slightly. Not knowing what to do, he slowly reached a hand over to her and rubbed her back in an effort to comfort her.

"I can understand that... It must be hard to go through... I can't imagine losing someone so close." Luke told her as he continued to rub her back. "Honestly, the closest experience I had to this sort of thing was when my father left three years ago... I never saw him since. Every once in a while, I get a letter in the mail from him. Other than that, however, not much..." As Nikki brought the mozerella sticks to them, she noticed that Leanne was upset.

"Anything wrong, if you don't mind me asking?" Luke looked at Leanne, but she wouldn't say anything and instead nodded in signal for Luke to tell her.

"A couple days ago, her father was sent to the hospital..." Luke answered, witholding the part about Blastoise considering it was a more personal issue. The the concern on Nikki's face turned to sadness.

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that..." Nikki told them. "I hope he makes a speedy recovery." Nodding to her, Nikki left to take another order. For about another fifteen minutes they just sat there, Leanne calming down while Luke left his hand on her back, each munching on a mozerella stick every once in a while. Once their orders were brought out, they ate quietly. About half way through their dinner, Leanne broke the silence.

"Thanks for not hating me, Luke." He choked on some of his cheesesteak when she said that.

"Why would I hate you?!" Luke asked her, surprised.

"Well, I always yell at you and you're nothing but nice to me... You even invited me to join you and Derek for your journey and this is how I repay your kindness?" Once again, she looked down at the bar.

"Well I promise you that I don't hate you." Luke reassured her, who turned her head towards him. "My dad told me something once... and I'll never forget it. 'There are four kinds of friends that you will make in this world. First, there are the friends that will always just be your friend, nothing more or less. Then there are your friends that you hang out with on a regular basis that will share fun and interesting times with you. Next are your close friends that will always have your back and never leave your side. Finally, there's that small group of friends that you can never imagine your life without... These friends will always pick you up when you fall and will always have a shoulder for you to lean on. When you make a friend like this, no matter how far apart you two are, you will never be alone. These friends are your family.'"

"What do you mean, family? How can it be a family if you aren't related to them through blood or marriage?" Leanne asked, a puzzled expression on her face. Luke returned her gaze with a smile.

"He always told me that your family has nothing to do with your relatives... but with the people you trust with your life. You can't choose your relatives, but you _can_ choose your family and as far as I'm concerned, you and Derek are members of my family." What happened next shocked him more than a thinderbolt from Derek's pichu: she flung herself at him and hugged him.

"To think... we barely know each other and you consider me family... Thank you, Luke." Leanne said softly as she let go of him.

"U-umm... Yeah... Y-You're welcome..." Luke replied, still slightly shocked from the sudden display of affection. Once they were finished eating, Luke left a tip on the counter for Nikki and paid for their bill. As they walked through the door to the pokemon center, Luke couldn't help but notice the big building at the end of the street that looked like it was made entirely out of boulders. Above the double doors was a pokeball with a lightning bolt behind it; the symbol of the Pokemon League.

"Look out Pewter City Gym... because Lucas Ivere is in town." Luke said to himself as they walked into their room to find that Derek still wasn't back. Eevee and Sai were sleeping next to each other on Luke's bed.

"Aww! They're so cute!" Leanne whispered, sneaking over to her bag and pulling out the camera to take a picture. Once she took the picture, she took off her skirt and stretched on her bed, turning over onto her stomach with a foot in the air as she began reading the book from earlier. As he changed, he noticed that she was turning the pages rather quickly and noticed that it was kind of familiar. Finally, he recognized it as his sketchbook as he got his shorts on. Noticing that he was staring at her, Leanne returned his gaze. "Sorry, I should have asked first... but it was laying on your bed and I wanted to see what kind of things you draw."

"Nah, it's cool. I don't mind." Luke replied as he walked over to her bed and sat next to her as he saw the picture she was currently looking at: a boy and a girl sleeping against a giant oak tree, the girl's head on the boy's shoulder and his head on hers, a cubone in the girl's lap and a growlithe in the boy's. "That's actually a picture of my mom and dad. This is how I imagined them when they were our age... In fact, mom told me that they actually met around our age." Luke explained to her.

With a yawn from Luke and another stretch and moan from Leanne, Luke felt that it was time for some shut eye. "Whenever you're done, just put it on top of my bag."

"Okay, thanks."

Taking care not to wake Sai or Eevee, Luke crawled into bed and under the blankets. About an hour later, he heard the door open and almost instantly Luke knew something was wrong as he heard flop onto Derek's bed. Turning on the lights, he saw Derek sitting up in his bed, Pichu nowhere to be found.

"Derek? Where's Pichu?! What happened?!" Luke asked, pressing for answers.

"Pichu's in the hospital wing... I went to challenge the Gym... Jack's pokemon... they're stronger than I thought! WAY stronger than I thought! As a last resort, I had Pichu use Volt Tackle..." Derek replied, his voice emotionless. It was crystal clear that he must have been severely outmatched.

"Well, try and get some rest, Derek. We'll check on Pichu in the morning, okay?" Luke told Derek, who just nodded his head altough he remained sitting up in the bed as Luke turned the lights back off and rested his head on his pillow once more, hearing the occasional, "It's all my fault" or "I should've known better" coming from Derek every once in a while as he slowly fell back to sleep.


End file.
